Unsuspected
by JMS529
Summary: Post Don't Cry for Me Albuquerque fic. Marshall has to team up with an unlikely source to find Mary's shooter.
1. Chapter 1

Spoilers for Season 1 and Season 2 especially Don't Cry for Me Albuquerque.

Thanks to Kathiann and Bujyo for betaing this story.

Still don't own the characters.

**Unsuspected**

Marshall sat separated from Mary's family as they continued to wait for the doctor to let them know how the surgery went; Mary had been in the operating room for a couple of hours and he was getting antsy to hear anything even though they had been warned it could take some time to repair the damage the bullet had done.

The waiting room was completely quiet which seemed odd to Marshall since Mary's family always had some kind of commotion going on around them. A few seconds later the silence was shattered by the sound of his cell phone ringing which drew everyone's attention to him. Looking at the caller id he noted it was Stan. Getting up he excused himself from the room.

"There's no word yet Stan." Marshall replied immediately as he answered the phone.

"I need you to come to the police station; we have another lead on the possible shooter. We're going after him tonight." Stan informed.

"Alright, let me tell Mary's family first so they can leave a message if there's an update." Marshall hung up and headed back into the waiting room.

They all once again looked at him in anticipation. "I have to go for awhile can you call if there's an update?" Marshall asked.

Brandi and Jinx nodded before Brandi asked. "Are you going after the person who shot her?"

"They have a lead we're following up on it; I can't guarantee anything at the moment. We'll get the person Brandi but sometimes it takes awhile." Marshall answered honestly.

* * *

Dershowitz was gathering the information for the bust they were setting tonight to capture Mary's suspected shooter. He was getting ready to hold a debriefing with the team going in after the suspect. The team included Marshall, who should be arriving soon as Stan McQueen had insisted that the marshals be in on the take down. Dershowitz had tried to talk him out of it; he trusted Marshall but knew full well the man was emotionally attached to the outcome. While he handled the interrogation of the gang leader just fine he wasn't sure how much longer Marshall could keep it together.

Marshall walked into the room just as the last thought passed through Bobby D's mind. "Marshall any word?"

"Still in surgery but they said it could take awhile and her family promised to send an update when they hear something." Marshall replied. "What do you have?"

"We received an anonymous tip that the guy who had been driving a red sports car around the neighborhood earlier that day was responsible for the shooting." Bobby D replied. "We looked into the tip and the guy driving the car and is trying to take over the neighborhood business. He was purchasing the merchandise to equal its quality. The way it looks is he figured on getting the gang in trouble with the police and it would be bad for the gang's business and he could work his way into their customer base."

"There was a guy who drove by and exchanged cash for drugs while we were at the house earlier that day." Marshall recalled. "He was in and out with the transaction but stared at Mary and me as he drove off."

"He's supposed to be at a car repair shop tonight conducting some business; we're going to raid the shop and see if we can't get some information from him. The debriefing is in a few minutes; you sure you're up for this?" Dershowitz asked concerned.

"I can do my job Dershowitz." Marshall stated firmly.

"No offense friend; just need to make sure your head is with us and not at the hospital."

"I'll be fine." Marshall was adamant; there was no way he was being left behind.

* * *

Stan showed up a half an hour later at the precinct and walked into the debriefing taking a seat next to Marshall.

Dershowitz moved to the front of the room and started the debriefing. "Alright everybody listen up; the suspect is expected to arrive around seven o'clock tonight. The groups involved in the meeting are to be considered armed and dangerous. There are two entrances into the shop; McQueen, Mann, Simmons, Wilcox, and I will be going through the front entrance while Evans, Owens, Perkins, Avery, and Turcott are going in the back. We want the suspects alive for interrogation. We head out in a half hour; you've all been given a copy of the layout of the car shop. Are there any questions?"

Stan stopped Marshall as he headed out. "I need you to promise me that you will be you and not let your emotions get in the way."

"I promise Stan; I'll do my job the way I've always done it." Marshall stated frustrated.

"Alright; I'll drive since we have to come back for the interrogation." Stan stated leaving no room for argument.

"Fine, but I have to grab my vest out of the truck." Marshall replied as they headed out of the precinct.

Marshall grabbed what he needed and they headed out towards the car shop neither saying anything as they focused on the task ahead and tried to keep the images of Mary out of their heads. All the vehicles approached with no sirens on and parked a slight distance away from the auto repair shop. Marshall, Stan, and Dershowitz went behind Simmons who had the battering ram to open the door while Wilcox brought up the rear.

Marshall pointed at the red car outside the door. "That's the car we saw stop by the gang."

Simmons rammed the door and the four men entered with Simmons coming in last. "Albuquerque P.D.; nobody move." Dershowitz shouted as the four young men doing business began to split up to try and make a break out of the building.

Marshall noticed the one from the red car and pointed to Stan; the two took off in the direction the man was heading. Stan signaled for Marshall to go to his left and Stan headed towards the right effectively blocking him off. The man realized it too late as he turned and saw Marshall pointing his gun at him; looking behind him while trying to debate if he could get away he noted Stan moving forward with his gun aimed at him.

The man raised his hands in surrender just as Bobby D rounded the corner and began to cuff him and read him his rights. "This guy?" He asked Marshall.

"Yeah that's him." Marshall acknowledged. "Did you get the rest of them?"

"All the suspects have been caught and are being taken back to the station. I'm assuming the two of you are coming for the interrogation?" Dershowitz knew they would.

"Wouldn't miss it." Marshall answered.

* * *

Peter had showed up and Brandi sat leaning her head against his shoulder waiting unable to stand the not knowing Jinx and Raph had fallen asleep while waiting for the doctor to come and give them information.; when the doctor finally entered they began to rouse Jinx and Raph.

The doctor took a seat giving them a chance to clear their sleep filled minds. "The surgery went well; we have managed to repair all the damage and barring unforeseen complications the wounds will heal. We induced a coma in order to prevent her from moving around and possibly damaging the repairs. We won't know abut brain damage as I stated after her initial surgery as that can't be determined until she comes out of the coma."

"When will she wake up?" Jinx asked.

"When we determine it's safe for her we will take her off the drugs that are keeping her in the coma." The doctor answered.

"She'll be moved to a private room shortly and then you will be allowed to see her but no more than two people at a time."

Brandi got up and headed towards the door. "I'll be right back, I promised Marshall I'd let him know what's happening." The rest nodded.

Brandi waited for Marshall to pick up the call.

Marshall and Stan had just parked at the precinct when his phone began to ring; looking at the caller id he quickly answered. "Brandi is Mary alright?"

Brandi sniffed before answering. "She made it through the surgery but they induced a coma. They repaired everything and if there are no complications than they expect the wounds to heal. They don't know when she'll wake up. We can visit here in two's as soon as they move her to a private room."

"Thanks Brandi; I'll be back as soon as possible." Marshall told her before hanging up and relaying the information to Stan.

* * *

Dershowitz led the suspects into separate interrogation rooms and waited for Stan and Marshall to appear before interrogating the one Marshall indicated was driving the car by the house.

Stan and Marshall made their way to Dershowitz; they were about to enter the interrogation room when a commotion behind them as caught their attention.

"Detective Dershowitz?" One of the men questioned.

Bobby D turned towards the two men. "What can I do for you?"

They flashed their badges at him. "We're with the FBI; you've arrested one of our undercover officers Derek Jones and he needs to be released immediately."

"Which one?" Marshall asked getting a bad feeling about this.

The man looked into the room they were about to enter. "That would be him."

"That man has been indicated in the shooting of a U.S. Marshal." Stan seethed. "He's going to have to explain that."

"Actually he won't have to the night of Marshal Shannon's shooting he was meeting with us to give us the information that he had obtained thus far. There's no way he could've shot her." The one agent stated plainly.

"Do you have proof?" Marshall demanded not trusting them where Mary was concerned.

"We just told you he was with us." The FBI agent stated.

"Well your word doesn't mean a whole lot around here; not after the troubles your associate caused the Shannon family in the past." Stan reminded them. "Setting members of their family up doesn't bode well with us."

"Agent O'Connor had a legitimate right to investigate that family." The agent exclaimed.

"The first time I'd agree that he had a right to question Brandi Shannon but the second time around was nothing more than a set up for her to confess to a crime she didn't commit." Marshall seethed.

The two agents knew that they couldn't argue that point. "Fine but we'll be in the room with Derek."

"No you will be in the observation room listening while he talks to us." Stan informed them.

Dershowitz stayed out of the argument wisely and led the men to the observation room while Stan and Marshall went into the interrogation room and took a seat across from the undercover agent.

He looked up at Marshall and Stan. "I have nothing to say to either of you."

"Lose the undercover attitude son because I have a witness that puts you as the shooter of Marshal Shannon. Your alleged alibi with the people you report to could easily be damaged by your department's proven biased against Marshal Shannon's family." Stan stated firmly.

"I had nothing to do with that. Word on the street is that you're all looking for a gang member responsible and no one is claiming responsibility. There is a lot of finger pointing going on to try and get rid of some of the competition but everyone is denying it. I was talking to my contact within the department that day. Don't believe me call them." Derek stated firmly.

"They're already here to pull your butt out of the fire." Stan stated.

"Look I can pass information on if I hear who shot her but right now I'm thinking you need to broaden your search." Derek offered.

"Give us a number to be able to get in touch with you; you're still not off the hook yet." Stan warned.

They let him out of the room after getting the information on how to get him when needed. Marshall looked to Stan. "Why is the FBI involved in this again and don't tell me it's a coincidence."

"Marshall I know that we've had problems with O'Connor but they aren't all him. They're working their own sting for something and that is probably going after the gangs. We might have to work with them to find the shooter. In the meantime if he's right and this isn't about the gang and Francesca; then we need to start digging through Mary's past cases." Stan knew Marshall was worn thin as it is. "Let's go back to the office and see if we can narrow it down."


	2. Chapter 2

Marshall and Stan had spent the remaining of the day and well into the night going through possible suspects in Mary's files. Worn out Marshall headed home to shower and change before taking over his night vigil with Mary.

Quietly pushing the door open he saw Jinx asleep in the chair, he walked over to her and gently touched her shoulder. "Sorry I'm late it took longer than I expected to get back."

Jinx tapped his hand in understanding. "Did you find the person who did this?"

"Not yet, I promise I won't stop looking until we find the person responsible." Marshall said determinedly.

"I know you won't but Marshall you need to take care of yourself too. I can stay if you want to go home and get some sleep." Jinx offered. The circles under his eyes had her worried about him; she couldn't ignore them anymore. The rest of them took time to sleep and recharge but he kept plugging forward non stop.

"I'm fine; I want to stay. Do you need a ride home? I can arrange one for you." Marshall had been surprised by her statements towards him; he wasn't use to her concern.

"No, I have the car tonight." Jinx answered. "Make sure you get some sleep." She squeezed his arm before heading out the door.

Marshall waited till Jinx was gone before reaching out to hold Mary's hand. "Hey Mare sorry I'm late but we keep tracking down leads. We ran into out friends from the FBI; thankfully no O'Connor. I forgot to ask them when they'll fix you house. I'll mention it next time I see them." He began to talk to her about work before he finally fell asleep.

Marshall's eyes flew open and he began to slowly check out the room; his instincts feeling like something was off. It was then he heard the door handle turn and he moved so that he faced the door. Brandi shouldn't be here for another half an hour and he felt like a threat was nearby. Moving his hand towards his weapon he removed it and laid it across his lap waiting for the person to enter the room before aiming.

The door opened and Marshall stood up fury written all over his face. "What in the hell do you think you're doing here? Get out of this room before I have you removed."

Agent Robert O'Connor looked at Marshall before stating. "I'm here to have a discussion with you."

"Well I'm officially not working yet and I know for a fact that you know where our office is. I suggest you go wait there and I'll be there in a few hours when my shift starts." Marshall couldn't keep the anger out of his voice. Before he could go on he noticed the increase in Mary's heart rate and realized she was reacting to his angry voice.

"Outside in the hall now!" Marshall managed a harsh but low voice and it seemed to have the effect on Mary's heart monitor he'd hoped for as he manhandled O'Connor out the door.

O'Connor was irritated with Marshall shoving him out into the hall. "Let go of me."

"Stay out of her room and I will. What did you think your presence would do? If you need to see me than you go to the office where I work and you can head there now. I'll make sure Stan is aware of your actions this morning." Marshall turned dismissing anything O'Connor may have to say and went back into Mary's room.

As soon as Marshall was sure O'Connor was gone he called Stan to tell him what happened.

"Is Mary okay Marshall." Stan answered half awake.

"No changes accept her heart rate accelerated when she heard my angry voice." Marshall was about to finish when Stan cut in.

"What the hell are you getting angry about in front of her for? You two work off of each other of course she's going to respond negatively to you being upset." Stan lectured.

"Well I wouldn't have been upset if O'Connor hadn't shown up in her room wanting to have a discussion with me. That alone would have gotten Mary to react. I forced him out of the room and told him if he had something to say it could be done at the office. I thought you might need a heads up." Marshall defended himself.

Stan rubbed his hand over his face. "I'll handle O'Connor and make sure he doesn't go near Mary again. Did he say what he wanted to discuss with you?"

"No but I have a feeling I'm not going to like it." Marshall cautioned.

"I'll see you in a few hours, try and get some more rest." Stan ordered.

"See you Stan." Marshall hung up and went back into Mary's room. Squeezing her hand to let her know he was back he whispered. "Sorry Mare didn't mean to get you worked up. Everything is fine all you need to do is concentrate and waking up and getting better." He watched her for the next two hours unable to sleep again.

* * *

Stan entered the office and was greeted with the sight of Agent O'Connor waiting for him. "O'Connor you've better have a damn good explanation for entering Marshal Shannon's hospital room especially after all the crap you've put her through."

"As I tried to explain to Inspector Mann; I needed to have a discussion with him." O'Connor stated agitated.

"You don't discuss anything with my inspectors without coming though me first. Is that understood?" Stan was angry. "Now whatever you needed to say to Marshall you can run by me before he gets in. Have a seat and close the door."

O'Connor did as was told before sitting in the chair. "I was asked by my boss to see if the two of us could work together on this to make sure that you get your shooter and we keep our case intact."

"They sent you to do this? What happened to the other two that were working with your undercover agent?" Stan questioned.

"They are still working with him but they wanted someone that if seen with your people wouldn't get associated with our undercover agent." O'Connor replied.

Stan didn't like this one bit. "They sent you because?"

"I believe to try and smooth things over between our two departments." O'Connor answered.

"What information do you have to add to what we have already?" Stan asked feeling there was more to this than what met the eye.

"So far nothing but I would be the contact between you and our undercover agent Derek." O'Connor replied.

"This couldn't have waited till this morning? I'll let you talk to Marshall when you have something useful. You stay away from Mary's room and family or I will make sure your days as an agent end. Do I make myself clear?" Stan asked.

"Yes." O'Connor got up to leave. "I'll be in touch."

"Call first." Stan handed him Marshall and his number and watched him leave.

* * *

Marshall came into the office a couple of hours later and noted that O'Connor wasn't there. Heading into Stan's office he waited while Stan finished up a phone call.

"What did O'Connor want?" Marshall asked the second he hung up.

"He's going to be our liaison with the FBI and their undercover agent Derek and the case." Stan noticed the disgusted look on Marshall's face and the snort of disgust he couldn't hold back. "I know that you don't like it and neither do I but right now it's not up for debate. I've been guaranteed by his superior if there's any misbehavior on his part than he will be dismissed from the case. They're also going to remind him he's not allowed near Mary or her family. I gave O'Connor instructions to come through me first."

"You think they're hiding something from us?" Marshall asked after seeing the scowl on Stan's face.

"I think they're investigating them for the violent gang and drug related activities and our witness put Mary in the center of it. They're worried about their case being blown as we investigate the shooting." Stan answered. "Marshall you're going to have to work with O'Connor and I expect you to be professional about it."

Marshall didn't like the idea but he knew Stan was right. "That's not a problem as long as he stays away from the Shannon's. They have enough to deal with right now and don't need him poking in their lives again."

"If he's anywhere near them I'll make sure his career ends." Stan stated firmly. "Any leads on her old cases?"

"The only two I could come up with were Horst Vanderhoff and Frankie Santoro." Marshall absently rubbed his chest when he mentioned Horst. "Horst is still in prison and Frankie's alibi checks out."

Stan hadn't missed Marshall's gesture or the memory that flashed through his mind of them wheeling Marshall by on the gurney and into the ambulance. "Alright so we keep focusing on the gang and let's dig into Francesca's background. There has to be something that we're missing."

"I'll start on Francesca's background and then I want to check and make sure none of Mary's witnesses have had any problems or threats just to be thorough." Marshall didn't want to take the risk that it might be something completely not related to Francesca although his instinct was telling him it had something to do with the gangs.

"When you're done with the witnesses I want you to go home and get some sleep before you even consider stepping foot in the hospital and trust me I'll know if you do." Stan warned. Marshall was pushing himself to hard and at this rate he'd be the next one in the hospital.

Marshall could tell Stan wasn't going to except a no. "Fine but I'm going to the hospital as soon as I wake up."

* * *

Marshall was frustrated by the time he walked into his home; tossed the keys on the counter and headed for his room. The day had once again proved useless in finding Mary's shooter. So far he hadn't found anything that stuck out in Francesca's file and he talked to Dershowitz to find they had nothing either. Sitting on his bed he took his boots off and lay down; shutting his eyes falling asleep almost instantly.

His dreams were plagued by images of Mary lying on the gurney blaming him for not being there, turning into her waking up and telling him she wanted a new partner; one that wouldn't abandon her when she needed them. He shot straight up and wiped off the tears that had fallen down his face.

"I'm sorry, Mary. I'm so sorry." Marshall's heartbroken voice echoed in the silence of his room. Not wanting to deal with the nightmares, he headed into the shower and changed. He might as well be at the hospital where he can tell her again in person how sorry he was.

* * *

Stan was sitting at the hospital watching Mary's lack of progress and worrying about both her and Marshall. He'd always feared what would happen to either one of them if the other didn't make it; they'd get by but somehow he had a feeling that's all they'd do. His train of thought was interrupted by the sound of the door opening; turning to look, he rolled his eyes.

"What part of I wanted you to get some sleep did you not comprehend?" Stan asked, agitated.

"I went home and slept just as you ordered, and now that I can't sleep anymore, I came here." Marshall answered back.

"You're wearing yourself out and it's not going to do Mary any good when she wakes up. She'll need you and you know that," Stan reminded.

"I'll be there for her and you know that, Stan."

"Marshall, maybe you should take something to help you get some sleep. The circles under your eyes are getting worse and everyone has noticed; if you don't get sleep I'm going to pull you from finding Mary's shooter until I'm sure you can still function," Stan warned.

"You can't do that Stan, I need to find the person that did this." Marshall realized he sounded like he was begging and honestly, he was.

"Then go back home and get some sleep. I don't want you back here or in the office tomorrow. Take a day for yourself and get some sleep. This isn't a request Marshall," Stan stated adamantly.

"Fine, you win. If she wakes up; you have to call me." Marshall needed that much.

"That I'll do for you. Now take a cab home and I'll have your truck brought to your house." Stan held his hands out for Marshall's truck keys which the younger marshal reluctantly handed over, and now prepared himself for the part he was sure his inspector wouldn't like.

"Mary's doctor has a colleague here that said he would take a look at you and prescribe you something to help you sleep if he deemed it necessary. He'll be here in about ten minutes. You arrived sooner than I thought you would."

"Yes Dad," Marshall mumbled grumpily, then sat next to Mary so he'd at least get the ten minutes with her.


	3. Chapter 3

Stan sat with Mary after Marshall had been placed in a cab and spoke to the sleeping woman, "What am I suppose to do with the two of you? You need to wake up soon Mary; we all need you, but especially Marshall. He's falling apart without you and working himself beyond exhaustion. The two of you are more alike than most people ever see. You were the same way when he was shot, and it's not healthy for either of you."

Stan stayed silent for a moment but heard Mary's heart rate increase after he finished talking. "Now don't get all worked up. I sent him home and the doctor gave him something to help him sleep. I'll keep taking care of him, but you know the only thing that will return him to normal is you waking up and getting better; your job is to concentrate on that for now." Stan smiled as the heart rate seemed to go back to normal.

"There you go. Marshall may be back tomorrow night, or earlier, since I'm making him take the day off. Everything will be fine; I promise." He sat back and gently patted her hand, then began to tell her about what was happening with work.

* * *

Marshall rubbed his eyes trying to fully wake up; he turned and looked at his alarm clock and bolted out of bed. He had slept in till three in the afternoon. Quickly grabbing some clothes, he headed to the shower before going to the hospital to visit Mary.

Marshall grabbed his badge, gun, cell phone, book and keys before heading out of his house. He was hoping they'd get another lead so he could find the bastard who'd shot Mary. It was the one thing he could do before she woke up, and maybe that gift would make it easier to ask for her forgiveness.

* * *

Brandi was taking a double shift at the hospital since her professor had cancelled her class for the day. She'd been surprised to find Stan in the room with Mary and had worried something happened to Marshall. She was relieved to know that Stan had forced Marshall to get some sleep. She knew Marshall felt guilty, but assumed it was a natural thing for partners after watching Mary's reaction to Marshall's shooting. Although Mary never said anything when Marshall had been shot, Brandi could tell her sister felt guilty for his condition.

Brandi stopped letting her mind drift as the door to Mary's room opened, and she almost laughed when Marshall walked in.

"You look like crap and I was told you'd been sent home to get rest." She couldn't help but notice or stop herself from saying it.

"Should I be insulted?" Marshall questioned with a slight smirk.

"No, but you need to take better care of yourself until Mary gets better. If you can't do it for yourself, then do it for the rest of us since she'd never forgive us for letting something happen to you," Brandi stated it lightly, but it was the truth.

"I'll keep that in mind. Isn't Raph supposed to be here?" Marshall had almost put off coming during Raph's shift but decided he didn't give a damn what her fiancé thought of him coming in to see her.

"They had a big promotional event going on at the dealership and he needed to work, and since my class was cancelled, I volunteered." Brandi could see Marshall needed some alone time with Mary so she stood up while asking, "Would you mind staying with her while I run out and grab some real food and do a couple of errands?"

"Not at all." Marshall knew what she was doing and thanked her as she walked towards the door.

"My pleasure." She smiled and waved at him before walking out the door, "I'll be back in a few hours."

Marshall reached over and gently took Mary's hand in his. "Hey partner. Miss me? Stan pulled rank, so I haven't had a chance to visit you sooner. I promise I'll try my best to not miss any more of my shifts." He studied her face hoping for any kind of reaction but there wasn't one.

"Alright since you aren't in a talkative mood I thought I'd read you Stone Cold by Robert B. Parker. When you're feeling better, I can pull out the movies with Tom Selleck and we can watch them. There are five of them and they're pretty good." Settling back into the chair, Marshall opened the book while noting her monitors were all holding steady before he started to read the book to her.

Marshall was in the middle of a paragraph when he heard the door open and looked up, surprised to see Brandi was back. He hadn't realized he'd been reading that long. "Did you get everything done you needed to?" He asked.

Brandi smiled, "That and a little more." She handed him a bag of food and a drink. "Not sure if it's what you like but it has to be better than hospital food."

"Thanks."

Marshall had forgotten about eating in his haste to get back to the hospital. He ate while Brandi talked to Mary about everything and anything; she had come a long way since her involvement with Chuck and he was happy for her. She really seemed to be trying to make an effort at helping others, and Marshall was also proud of her. He knew Mary was too, but she hadn't said anything yet, and may not do it until she was absolutely sure Brandi stayed on this path. He couldn't blame Mary for that though. Jinx and Brandi had put Mary through a lot of troubles but both seemed to be trying to improve.

Brandi had noted Marshall observing her interactions with Mary and became concerned, "What? Shouldn't I be talking to her about everyday things?"

"You're fine; just thinking and spaced out," Marshall stated, realizing it was what Mary would call it. His cell vibrated before he could say anything else and pulling it up he saw the call was from Stan. "Excuse me," he said to Brandi, before heading to the hall and taking the call.

"Hi Stan," Marshall answered.

"Where are you?" Stan demanded.

"At the hospital. And before you yell, I've only been here for a little over two hours." Marshall informed.

"I need you to come into the office as soon as possible," Stan said briskly.

"Something wrong?" Marshall could tell by his voice something was off.

"Not exactly wrong, but less than thrilling," Stan stated.

"On my way." Marshall quickly popped his head back in to let Brandi know he had to go and would try to be back tonight.

* * *

Stan waited for Marshall to arrive knowing that the news he had would go over poorly. When he heard the elevator ding, he went out to meet the tall marshal before he saw who was in the conference room.

"Alright Stan, I'm here. What's going on?" Marshall asked.

"I have been instructed that we are working jointly with the FBI on Mary's case now. They want one of their agents to be working with you directly so neither of us compromises the other person's case. It's no longer a liaison position, but a partnership" Stan informed.

"Please tell me its not who I think it is." Marshall asked, less than thrilled.

"I tried to get them to change it but they refused, and I was told by my boss that we need to at least let O'Connor try to make amends by working with us. Marshall, I expect you to be the better person here and deal with him in a professional manner no matter what. Am I clear?"

Marshall was angry, but knew he couldn't do anything about it. "What if he doesn't cooperate?"

"If we have any problems with him then I report back to his superior. We'll demand another agent and they can't refuse," Stan informed him. "Don't antagonize him to get rid of him either; I know it's tempting but don't do it."

"I'll behave, but I can guarantee you that I'm not going to like it one bit." Marshall cautioned Stan.

"I'm not asking you to. Now let's go find out what he has for us," Stan said before they made their way into the room.

Marshall had to take several calming breaths before entering behind Stan. "Agent O'Connor," He greeted the man, his voice neutral.

"Inspector Mann; I hear we'll be working together on this one," O'Connor replied.

"Apparently." Marshall hated the smug look on O'Connor's face, but held back for now. If it meant finding the person responsible for Mary's condition, he'd be nice to the man until they got what they needed.

Marshall took a seat across from O'Connor as Stan began to lay down the laws. "Agent O'Connor, Inspector Mann is in charge of this operation and you will be doing exactly what he tells you to do. If you need to get a hold of Inspector Mann, you call him, and if by some slim chance he doesn't answer, you call me. You are also at no time to enter the room of Inspector Shannon again. The hospital staff has been advised to not let you enter her room. Do you understand?"

O'Connor was tired of this crap; it was the fourth time he heard this lecture. "Understood."

Marshall looked at O'Connor expectantly. "I'm assuming that you're here with information."

"Right now we wanted to compare notes to determine where each side is at with this investigation. I'm here to show you our cards while you show me yours," O'Connor replied.

"So what do you have? Your inside man suggested looking at Mary's old cases, and the ones that would be the most likely suspects are in jail, or their whereabouts are all accounted for. So that brings us back to the gang, your inside guy, or an unknown," Marshall stated.

"Derek is clean," O'Connor stated firmly. "I did a background check on him, and he was reporting to the agents you met the other day and has no connection to Marshal Shannon."

"You know this how? I know that two of the FBI agents he was reportedly with cannot provide us with proof of his presence. Is there another undercover agent or someone else that he reports to?" Marshall questioned.

"He was with the agents as he stated to you previously, and I know for a fact they told you this," O'Connor stated angrily.

"You didn't answer the other questions," Marshall reminded him, ignoring his tone and his statement.

"I can't tell you that information as it would have implications on our investigation. No one from our investigation has anything to do with the shooting of Inspector Shannon. Although, with the location that she was at, it's possible that it was just a drive by," O'Connor stated.

"If it was a drive by, a lot more people would've been shot. I want a list of the people that you are investigating so that I can cross reference it with our cases and see if there is an unknown connection to all of this. I want it before the day is out, I'll let you know if we or Albuquerque P.D. finds anything out," Marshall stated before starting to stand up.

"I'll give you what I can," O'Connor stated, also getting up.

"You'll give Marshall exactly what he asked for, or I'll be making a call." Stan warned, not caring for O'Connor's attitude while at the same time proud of Marshall for not letting O'Connor get to him. He watched O'Connor leave and waited till the elevator door closed before turning to Marshall to ask. "What do you think?"

Marshall lifted a finger up, indicating one minute while he checked under the table for any signs of a bug. "Was this the only room he was in?"

Stan shook his head no. "My office, and near your desk. I'll have the office checked to be on the safe side."

Marshall wrote a note on a piece of paper and handed it to Stan.;

_O'Connor's hiding something, but until I know it's clean in here I'd rather not contemplate out loud on what. _

Stan nodded his head in affirmation to Marshall while heading out the door to personally arrange a sweep of the office.


	4. Chapter 4

Marshall headed over to the police station to talk to Dershowitz. Strolling into the precinct, he headed straight to his desk.

"Dershowitz," Marshall greeted.

"Marshall. Anything new on Mary?" the detective inquired.

"No, any leads from your end?" Marshall asked hopefully.

"The other suspects we picked up along with the undercover agent stated they had nothing to do with the shooting either. It's not adding up Marshall. Someone would be bragging about shooting a U.S. Marshal to earn them respect in a gang."

"The only people we could come up with that might come after her couldn't have done it either," Marshall stated.

"What aren't you telling me?" Dershowitz asked, he could tell by the tone and look on Marshall's face that he was leaving something out.

"Not sure yet, and I'm not comfortable saying anything until I know. If I get any leads I'll pass it on," Marshall told him.

Dershowitz was pretty sure Marshall had an uncomfortable feeling regarding who was involved, and if he was trying to protect him, what position did that put Marshall in?

"If you need help with anything; call me." He watched him nod in agreement before heading out the door. Bobby was worried about his friend; whatever his suspicions were they weren't good.

* * *

Marshall headed back to the Sunshine Building and walked straight into Stan's office. Stan looked up and noticed Marshall arching his eyebrow, waiting for an answer.

"We're clean. Dershowitz have any leads?" Stan inquired.

"No, he agrees with me that this isn't adding up, Stan. They've heard no one on the streets bragging about shooting a U.S. Marshal, and if they were in a gang they'd be looking to get credit for the shoot," Marshall relayed. "

"What are you thinking?" Stan asked.

"I'm thinking the FBI undercover agent may have made a mistake and accidentally shot Mary, and they are trying to cover it up." Marshall shrugged. "The problem is finding a way to prove it. I may be wrong, but they were here rather quickly after the agent was hauled in. Can we get a copy of his file?"

"I'll make sure I get one. In the meantime, Francesca's file will be sent to us shortly and I have also requested background information on our friend, Mr. Day, because of his arrangement in moving Francesca to that neighborhood. Eleanor and I are both working our contacts to see if we can find out who had access to her location." Stan had the same feeling that Marshall did, he just wasn't sure which agency was to blame for this mess.

"Can you request the information on the undercover agent?" Marshall asked.

"Yeah. I'll also get the information on the people he reports to, and pull O'Conner's file; that way we've got all of our angles covered." Stan stated.

"I'm going to go and check on some of Mary's witnesses and make sure they are okay." Marshall stated, and headed back out.

Stan watched him go, and knew what they both were thinking had the potential to cause a lot of tension amongst the three branches of government involved. He began to start making the calls to get the information they needed.

* * *

Marshall spent the rest of the day checking on his and Mary's witnesses and then headed home to shower, change, and eat before going back to the hospital. He walked wearily down the hall and into her room. Jinx smiled at him before collecting her things and heading out the door.

"She's starting to be able to breathe on her own. They are starting to wean her off the ventilator. She's fidgeting some and it looks like she's trying to move her hands." Jinx informed him before leaving.

"Thanks." Marshall told her before taking her seat and moving closer to Mary. "Hey Mare. It sounds like you're getting better; now all you need to do is open those eyes. I need to bounce ideas off of you because I'm not sure what to think and I don't like the way my thoughts are leading. Your witnesses are okay I went to check on them." He squeezed her hand gently and grabbed the book back out and continued where he left off.

He'd been reading to her for two hours when Stan walked into the room. "What's wrong?

"There's a lead that developed according to Agent O'Connor and you are suppose to meet him at the warehouse facility on 2nd Street Northwest. I'll stay with Mary for now; you call me and let me know what happens as soon as you're done." Stan didn't like sending him there without another marshal for backup especially since it meant he'd have to trust O'Connor but he knew there was no choice they had to work in cooperation with the FBI.

"I'll call as soon as I know something." Marshall answered before giving Mary's hand a light squeeze and leaving.

* * *

Marshall drove to the warehouse to meet up with O'Connor but couldn't shake the sense of foreboding that was in his gut; not sure if it was about where he was headed or his concern for Mary he decided to make sure to be extra careful. As he came towards the entrance of the warehouse he could see Agent O'Connor parked outside the entrance and he pulled up behind his car and met up with him.

"O'Connor, what information did you get?" Marshall questioned.

"Our inside guy heard that they've been stashing their goods in crates and packages from this warehouse; there are several meeting here tonight and one is allegedly the person who shot your partner." O'Connor told Marshall.

"How many people are you expecting?" Marshall questioned. It sounded like they should be having a lot more backup if they were going to arrest these people.

"There are only suppose to be about four of them and that's why I wanted to go in low key; too many people and someone might get anxious." He stated plainly. "We need to move and do it soon before we lose the opportunity to get the person you're after."

Marshall was getting an even worse feeling about this. "Do you know where in the warehouse they're meeting?"

"I was told they usually meet towards the back; there's a little office back there and that's where they conduct their business. All the regular workers have gone home for the night and the security guard works for the drug dealer." O'Connor supplied.

Marshall and O'Connor both drew their guns out and entered the warehouse after the security guard made his pass. They were slowly and methodically making their way to the back office and hadn't seen anyone yet. Marshall spotted the office and signaled to O'Connor which way he wanted him to approach. O'Connor signaled to see if Marshall wanted to go in and with a shake of his head and a few hand signals he indicated to O'Connor to wait until they came out of the office.

An hour passed before the men began to exit the office, Marshall recognized the one as the FBI mole they talked to early; he still wasn't convinced the agent wasn't the one who shot Mary. They waited until the men were in front of them before making their move.

"U.S Marshal; Freeze!" Marshall called out and the four men all turned with guns drawn and began shooting toward O'Connor and Marshall as they broke for cover. As he moved into cover he noted the undercover FBI Agent shooting towards him while helping the gang leader to escape. Filing that thought for later he decided to focus on getting better cover and capturing the other two suspects before pursuing the agent and the leader.

O'Connor went after the one member that ran past him while Marshall took off after the second one that was following Derek and the gang leader. He caught the guy and quickly cuffed him to the nearest rack in the warehouse while taking off after Derek and the gang leader.

Marshall saw the two men he was pursuing running out of the warehouse and followed them; they were getting into the red sports car when he exited from the building. The car was thrown into reverse so he aimed for the tire to prevent them escaping. Marshall was about to squeeze the trigger when an arm shoved the gun away from the car. Quickly recovering from the surprise he pointed the gun towards his attacker and came face to face with Agent O'Connor.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Marshall fumed.

"You could've shot our agent by accident." O'Connor defended.

"I was aiming for the tire you idiot; the car wouldn't have gotten away and we'd have them both in custody and Derek's cover would still be intact." Marshall stated angrily. "Or was the whole idea of this to make him more loyal looking to the gang leader?"

"They were worried about his loyalties at the time so yes this helped the case we are working on but one of the two we caught might know something about Shannon's shooter." O'Connor shrugged.

"Interesting how the story changed after you got what you wanted. I'm sure Stan will agree with me." Marshall turned his back on O'Connor while calling Dershowitz to come pick up the two at the warehouse.

* * *

Stan was sitting next to Mary worrying about Marshall when Brandi had shown up. He was just getting ready to leave when his phone buzzed and he stepped out to answer the call

"McQueen."

"Stan, its Marshall. We're bringing in two suspects to the police station right now to see if they can tell us anything." Marshall stated before telling him about his conversation with O'Connor.

"I'll be talking to O'Connor's superiors; if you get any information out of the two let me know right away." Stan ordered.

"Stan I'd like to keep O'Connor away from the interrogation and I really need the information on Derek."

"I'll see if Eleanor can pull some strings with some of her friends to get us those files and in the meantime I'll get O'Connor away from the station " Stan stated they hung up.

* * *

Marshall was elated when O'Connor had to leave the precinct before they did the interrogations; but tried to keep it hidden till he'd left the room. Dershowitz picked up on it right away.

"Alright, what do you have to do with his being forced to leave and why?" Dershowitz questioned.

Marshall felt he owed Bobby D the truth. "I don't think the suspects will tell us anything if he's here and I have a feeling that the FBI is covering up something or one of them is another undercover for them."

"You think they're undercover guy shot her on accident." Dershowitz stated more than asked.

"It's a guess and would make sense without any gang members bragging about the shooting." Marshall shrugged.

"Well then let's see what our friends have to say." The two of them headed towards the interrogation room. "I figured we'd start with one while Detective Roxanne Lewis works on the other one."

"I heard her and Mary got along by the time the whole Robert Eps fiasco was over with." Marshall stated briefly smiling as he recalled the fight on the lawn the two had.

"She'd give Mary a run for her money." Dershowitz stated with a smirk.

"My money's on Mary but it might be fun to watch again." Marshall stated firmly before they headed into the interrogation room.

"That's because Mary plays dirty if necessary." Bobby replied as all kidding ended once they were in the room and closed the door.

"So Lala, fancy seeing you again so soon." Dershowitz started "We're back to having you as a suspect in the shooting of Marshal Shannon."

Marshall took one look at the face of the man he tried to bargain with before. "Is that why you didn't take the offer? A new life for the shooters name and you're the shooter so the deal wouldn't protect you."

"I didn't shoot the marshal." Lala answered sternly.

"You know who did." Marshall stated back harshly.

"You're barking up the wrong tree man; you need to look closer to home and that's all I'm saying." Lala crossed his hands over his chest leaning back. "You can't protect me if I tell you; there's no second chance for a gang member. Don't even lay that line of crap on me again."

Frustrated after spending an hour with Lala and getting nowhere they headed out in the hall to meet up with Detective Lewis. "How'd it go Roxanne?"

"Not well. He's afraid to say anything and I'm not sure it's the gang he's scared of. What'd you two get?" She questioned.

"We need to look closer to home." Dershowitz stated.

"No cop would have shot her; Mary may be a pain but she's good at what she does plus she found out Missy killed my partner they give her credit for that and it holds weight." Roxanne stated confidently.

"I wasn't thinking your department and I have a feeling this is about to get pulled out from your jurisdiction and into ours completely." Marshall stated.

"What are you thinking Marshall?" Dershowitz asked concerned.

"I'm thinking you need to get out of this and stay out of it unless Stan or I call you for help. If he's hinting to what I'm thinking than your local badge isn't going to be enough."

"How much more dangerous is this going to get?" Dershowitz questioned concerned.

"I don't know but I'm telling you to not do any side investigations; I don't want any unnecessary heat brought down on you or this department." Marshall stated sternly and looked his friend straight in the eyes to make sure he understood that he was serious.

"I don't like it," Bobby D cautioned. "But for now I'll do what you ask. Don't go tearing up this town Mann or getting yourself killed."

"Relax I've got a feeling this could end up multi jurisdictional." Marshall commented. "There are too many people here snooping around and it's messing with the FBI case so the best option would be to move it somewhere else until things cool off. I can go to the other places in an official capacity."

"Keep an eye on your back Marshall. I don't like when we get told it could be people with badges doing the damage." Dershowitz watched as Marshall nodded at his concern before heading out. "If you need anything call."


	5. Chapter 5

Stan waited nervously for Marshall to call outside; the lack of word was unusual and he was getting worried. The sounds of boots walking across the tile across the nearly empty hospital corridor caused him to step out of Mary's room and saw Marshall striding purposefully towards him.

Before Stan could say anything Marshall began. "We need somewhere private to talk and I don't trust any of our normal communication lines."

"Alright I'll get us a waiting room. Why don't you visit with Mary and Brandi? I'll get you as soon as I have a room for us." Stan stated and headed towards the nurses desk as Marshall headed into the room.

"Hi Brandi." Marshall greeted her as he looked towards Mary. "Anything?"

"No you know Mary; everything is going to be done by her rules." She shrugged.

Marshall smirked at that knowing it was true. "How are you doing?"

Brandi shrugged. "I'll be fine when she wakes up. Stan was worried about you. Did you find the person yet?"

"Not yet; it takes time. Nothing's ever simple when Mary's involved." Marshall lightly teased. "I'll be following up on some more leads and hopefully will have the person soon."

"Thanks. I know that you're trying." Brandi said and watched him gently squeeze Mary's hand to let her know he was there.

Stan stuck his head into the room "Marshall."

"I'll see you later." Marshall said to both Mary and Brandi before following Stan to a waiting room.

Stan waited for Marshall to enter before closing the door. "What's going on?"

"Dershowitz and I talked to Lala and of course he didn't give up much. The police caught him shortly after Derek dropped him off." Marshall started.

Stan noted the way Marshall worded the sentence. "What did he give you?"

"He said we needed to look closer to home; I'm telling you Stan this has something to do with the FBI or Mr. Day. I told Dershowitz they might get yanked and not to do any investigating on his own. I want to follow Derek and see where that leads me." Marshall stated firmly. "Derek and Lala both were shooting at me instead of O'Connor and me; Derek took off with the gang leader and my gut is telling me one of them knows something. We have the license plate and I figured I can see if it can be tracked."

Stan hesitated as he didn't like where this was headed but he trusted Marshall's instincts. "Alright but you keep it on the sly and be careful."

"Yep." Marshall agreed. "I'll call you if I find anything out."

"Alright, I'm going to stay with Mary for a little longer and I'll see you at the office." Stan stated and watched Marshall walk away.

* * *

Marshall walked into the office and noted Eleanor talking on the phone. He turned his computer on and grabbed a cup of coffee while it booted. As he headed back towards his desk Eleanor handed him three files. Marshall nodded his thanks and began to scan through the files after beginning the search on Derek's car. The files contained the background information on Derek Jones; Robert O'Connor and Mr. Day

Eleanor hung up the phone. "Mr. Day's file is pretty much useless as most of it's blacked out but I don't think he's the problem. O'Connor was reprimanded and has no chance for promotion because of what happened with Brandi. Derek Jones has the best reason to shoot Mary."

Marshall looked over to her. "That would be?"

"I did a little more research for you and found out that Derek Jones is the cousin to the late Max Harrison." Eleanor saw the stunned look on Marshall's face.

"We're talking about O'Connor's old partner right?" Marshall was tired of everything coming back to that.

"The one and only." Eleanor confirmed.

"So he happened to see us when he was working his case and had the opportunity and motive to go after Mary when he saw what was going on." Marshall stated. "Nice of O'Connor to not mention that part to us."

"Here's the catch to that theory. I'm not sure he knows; the two cousins hadn't seen each other in years because of Derek's undercover work. I checked with Patricia Harrison and she hadn't met him at all so O'Connor might not know him either." Eleanor stated.

Marshall called Stan and relayed the information Eleanor discovered. "Stan I've also got a track on his car so once they find it I'm going to head out towards his location. I'll let you know where as soon as I get the information."

Stan didn't like the information he just heard. "Marshall, take O'Connor with you but have Dershowitz on stand by; I don't want you going by yourself. Either O'Connor is innocent which it sounds like or he could be working with Derek on revenge. I'm going to set up a security detail on Mary and then I'll meet up with you."

"Stay with her Stan and I'll take care of it with O'Connor. I'd rather have you at the hospital with Mary; if she wakes up she'll know something is wrong and if she doesn't hear it from me or you then she might try and do something stupid." Marshall warned. "If I need extra help I'll call Dershowitz."

Stan didn't like that option but knew Marshall was right about Mary. While he knew she wouldn't be able to go help Mary would more than likely injure herself trying to. "Marshall be careful and call me back as soon as you can. I'll send a team to your location to back you up."

"Keep her safe Stan." Marshall added before hanging up.

Marshall called O'Connor reluctantly as soon as he got a hit on the car. "O'Connor; meet me at Los Picaros Road. We have a lead that needs to be followed up on. I'm heading out there now." Marshall added the industrial warehouse building number before hanging up. He didn't want to give O'Connor any more information than he had to. His reaction to the news would be all Marshall needed to see. He called Stan and let him know where they were heading and put Dershowitz on alert.

* * *

Stan had the detail outside Mary's room while he sat inside with Brandi and Jinx. They were warned about the added security and told it was an added precaution just in case. Stan's eyes kept scanning looking for a possible threat while at the same time hoping the backup detail arrived to help Marshall; he couldn't shake the feeling of dread that was building up inside him.

While scanning the room Stan noticed the hand movement that came from the bed. "Mary?" Stan stated as he noticed her move her hand again.

Brandi and Jinx looked to see what they missed when they saw it too. Her eyes began to flutter and Stan hit the call button immediately. Her hands began to go after the breathing tube and Stan pulled them away gently.

"Mary you can't pull that out; you're in the hospital and that is helping you breath. The nurse or doctor will be here soon." Stan told her as her eyes looked to him. He noticed her eyes quickly scan around the room in confusion and looking for someone.

Jinx noticed the eye movement. "Raph's at work he comes in later." Mary shook her head.

Stan knew who she was looking for. "Marshall's working and will be by as soon as he can." Mary stopped scanning the room and focused on Stan.

The nurse came in and saw Mary's eyes opened and paged the doctor right away to the room. "I'm going to have to ask all of you to leave the room while we check her out." The nurse stated.

Stan looked at her. "I'll be staying as part of her protection detail." His tone left no room for argument.

"That's fine but the other two need to go to the waiting room. I'll come and get you when it's okay to come back in." The nurse stated and Brandi and Jinx left the room as the doctor came in.

The doctor smiled at her. "Welcome back Ms. Shannon. We've been weaning you off the ventilator and if things look good than I'm going to want to do the extubation; which means I want to take the breathing tube out." After checking her over the doctor told her they would be taking it out.

* * *

Marshall arrived outside the warehouse and pulled out his gun; O'Connor pulled up beside him and Marshall could tell he wasn't happy when he saw Derek's car outside the building.

O'Connor was furious. "Which part of keeping him out of this didn't you understand?"

"The part where you failed to mention that he was Max Harrison's cousin; that's kind of an important part of the whole picture don't you think?" Marshall bit back while watching his O'Connor's reaction.

"What the hell are you talking about?" O'Connor didn't recall his late partner mentioning a cousin.

Marshall could tell he was genuinely surprised by that. "We managed to get a copy of his file and did some digging around. The digging led us to the fact that he's Max's cousin and therefore gives him motive for going after my partner. We're here to bring him in and if you have a problem with that then leave."

"Alright let's go but I want him brought in alive." O'Connor cautioned.

"My pleasure; I'd love to have a chat with him." Marshall stated and the two headed towards the warehouse.

* * *

Stan sat with Mary at the hospital and was relieved when the breathing tube was removed and she was breathing fine on her own. The doctor was asking her basic questions and she was answering them but getting annoyed.

"Ms. Shannon we'll be keeping a close eye on your condition but so far you are doing much better than we hoped. I'll have the nurse get your family now." The doctor stated.

Stan stopped him. "Not yet I need to ask her some questions and they aren't allowed to hear it."

The doctor nodded and the nurse looked to him. "Hit the call button when you are ready and I'll let them know they can come in."

Stan grabbed the pitcher of water next to the bed and poured some in cup to let her sip. "Mary, I need to know what you remember about what happened to you."

"Shot." Her voice raspy from being on the ventilator for so long and she tried to state it more clearly. "I was shot."

"That's correct. Do you remember who shot you?" Stan asked.

Mary seemed to pause at this and closed her eyes and began to try and remember the shooting. "I don't remember Stan." Worry laced her voice at the loss of memory.

"It's okay Mary; you've been through a lot. Marshall's following up on a lead right now and Francesca has been relocated." Stan answered soothingly.

"How's Marshall?" Mary questioned.

"He'll be fine as soon as he hears you're awake. I'll let him know when he checks in." Stan promised. "We have a security detail outside just as a precaution and that's what we told your family. Are you ready for them?"

Mary nodded briefly and Stan hit the call button. The nurse came in and then went to get her family.


	6. Chapter 6

Marshall and O'Connor quietly opened the door to the warehouse and entered the building. Marshall took the right hand side while O'Connor headed towards the left hand side of the warehouse and moving slowly but cautiously towards the back of the building.

Marshall was half way down the aisle he was checking when he heard two voices talking. Not being able to see O'Connor he moved ahead on his own towards the voices. When he got closer he could see Derek Jones but the gang leader was nowhere in sight. Derek was on the phone talking with someone.

"I don't know if he knows who I am but I think we need to reevaluate our plan and move it elsewhere for awhile. The partner isn't going to give up anytime soon and I highly doubt his boss will either. If we stay here this is going to blow up in our faces." Derek stated frustrated into the phone.

_It already has._ Marshall couldn't help the thought but decided to wait until Derek got off the phone. Whatever the person on the other end was saying wasn't sitting well with the undercover agent. Finally he hung the phone up.

"U.S Marshall Freeze!" Marshall yelled out and Derek saw him stepping out of the aisle and towards him.

"You are a pain in the ass do you know that?" Derek questioned but raised his hands.

"I've been called worse." Marshall responded.

"I thought we had all of this cleared up; what do you want now?" Derek asked aggravated.

"To arrest you for shooting my partner accept this time we know it wasn't an accident." Marshall answered.

"Why would I shoot her?"

"Revenge is always a strong motive. You blame her sister and her boyfriend for Max Harrison's death and decided to get even. You were cousins that were more like brothers but kept apart to keep your cover from being blown; so you take an assignment close to those you blame and go after Mary to get even." Marshall stated evenly.

Derek looked at him. "You've got pretty good connection in order to find out we were cousins and your statement is partially true but not completely. Yes I took an assignment here to investigate what happened to Max but I'm not investigating anything to do with the Shannon family. Your partner's sister was used by her boyfriend and testified to get the men who killed my cousin arrested. Your partner was protecting her sister; it's what families do. They aren't the ones that I'm investigating."

"Really than why was I the only one you were shooting at last time?"

"Because I needed to keep up a front and I couldn't risk shooting the person I'm investigating yet.

"Who are you investigating and stop hiding who shot my partner. I want an answer." Marshall demanded.

"I did." Marshall turned towards the voice just as the bullet hit him in his left shoulder and sent him backwards. Hitting the ground he struggled to stay conscious long enough to text Dershowitz for a 911 to the site, he passed out before he could hit the send button.

"I didn't know that you were his cousin; crying shame that you both have to die but don't worry; I'll make it look like you were a dirty fed and shot both of the marshals." With that the man pulled the trigger and Derek fell to the ground dead.

The man turned and headed out of the building to his car; it was time to finish what he started and then he could leave this all behind.

* * *

Mary was overwhelmed dealing with Jinx, Brandi and Raph after he showed up. They talked to her about the little things and tried to keep everything light. Mary began to watch Stan looking at the clock and his cell phone.

Ignoring her family she realized how much time had past since Stan mentioned Marshall was investigating a lead. "Stan" she croaked out. "Where's Marshall?"

Jinx looked at her daughter and than to Stan and she could see the concern on his face. She looked at Raph and could tell he wasn't happy about the question either. "Mary really you're family is here to see you and you ask about your partner whose working."

Mary just glared at Jinx promptly causing her to be quiet and turned back to Stan. "Where and who is his backup?"

"Mary you shouldn't be thinking of work already." Raph stated firmly. "Marshall can take care of himself."

"Raph, Jinx, and Brandi I want you out of this room now." Mary stated firmly.

"What?" Brandi asked stunned.

"Stan and I need to have a conversation and I can't have it with all of you here. Thanks for stopping by but could you please wait somewhere else for awhile." Mary maybe in pain but she wasn't going to sit here and worry about Marshall when all she needed was to throw her family out and get them from Stan.

"I just don't understand you sometimes." Raph complained as he left.

Mary suddenly was flashed back to Francesca in the bar stating that Raph didn't get her humor. She remembered being at the house calling Dershowitz.

"Mary, what's wrong?" Stan asked concerned.

"I'm starting to remember." She stated softly.

"Do you recall the shooter?" Stan pushed.

"I remember Dershowitz showing up and things were getting tense. There was something to the left of Mario and I yelled out about the gun." Mary was silent again as she finally recalled who shot her. "O'Connor was the shooter Stan. It was Robert O'Connor."

Stan felt a chill run over him. "Are you absolutely sure?"

"Stan, there's no way I'd mistake that jerk. What's wrong?" Mary picked up on Stan's distress as he quickly pulled out his cell phone.

"Pick up Marshall, pick up." Stan chanted. Hanging up he called the team that was sent to help. "What is your location and why is it taking so long to get there?" Stan's voice increased in anger.

"Stan what's going on?" Mary demanded.

Stan ignored Mary briefly when he found out the team had been delayed because of an accident. He dialed Dershowitz.

"Dershowitz." Bobby answered recognizing the phone number.

"Dershowitz this is Stan McQueen I need you to get to Marshall. FBI Agent O'Connor was Mary's shooter. Marshall is not answering his phone and our team is delayed by an accident. The warehouse is on Los Picaros Road we thought Derek Jones was the shooter. Marshall is walking into this blind."

"He mentioned it to me but hasn't called. I'm leaving now." Dershowitz hung up and headed out immediately.

Mary heard Stan's part of the conversation and was now scared and angry. "You sent Marshall out with _O'Connor_ as his backup? What were you thinking?" She yelled.

"I'm thinking you need to calm down before they sedate you." Stan warned as the nurse came in to check on her.

"Ms. Shannon you can't get riled up like this." She lectured as she injected something into her IV.

Stan called in one of the men from the detail. "I want everyone on full alert for Agent O'Connor he's our suspect."

Stan pulled his gun out and kept it within quick reach as he watched Mary try to fight the affects of the medicine and lose the battle to sleep. He was worried enough right now about Marshall and knew it was better Mary was asleep until they had news.

* * *

Marshall came to and noticed Derek lying on the floor in front of him and heard the door closing to the warehouse. Forcing himself up with the help of the storage units shelves he moved towards Derek and checked for a pulse; finding none he headed towards the exit and out to his truck. He had a feeling that O'Connor was heading back towards the hospital by the taillights he saw running down the road..

Marshall reached behind the seat of his truck and quickly grabbed his away bag; getting out his first aid kit he quickly applied a pressure bandage to his shoulder wound. He turned the ignition and accelerated while trying to get to his cell phone. Hitting speed dial number two he waited for Stan to pick up.

"Marshall, where have you been? O'Connor's the shooter; Mary woke up and finally remembered he shot her." Stan stated quickly.

"I know; he killed Derek James. Can you call P.D. and let them know his body is at the warehouse? I'm headed towards the hospital; I heard him say something about finishing this and he headed in t he general direction of the hospital." Marshall stated trying to keep the pain out of his voice.

"What happened to you and don't you dare tell me it's nothing because you're obviously in pain." Stan demanded.

"I got hit in the left shoulder and have put something on it to stop the bleeding. He's coming there Stan. Keep your eyes opened." Marshall cautioned.

"Everyone is already on alert for O'Connor. Marshall, pull your truck over and let me have an ambulance or Dershowitz pick you up." Stan didn't like the sound of Marshall's voice.

"There's no time for that Stan. I'll be there in about four minutes. O'Connor's either already there or will be there in a couple of minutes." Marshall cautioned as he floored the truck knowing he needed to arrive sooner.

"I'll call Dershowitz and tell him what's going on." Stan knew Marshall needed medical attention but wouldn't accept any until this was over. He took a defensive position in front of Mary.

O'Connor pulled up in hospital parking lot; and surveyed the area. He checked to see if there were any notable U.S. Marshall vehicles or personnel to be seen. Getting out of the car he intermixed himself with a concerned family and made his way towards the ICU. He'd kill her this time just like he did Marshall and Derek.

Entering the elevator O'Connor headed up to Mary's room on the third floor. Seeing the security detail he changed direction and decided if he couldn't get to Mary he could take out Brandi; she was the reason all of this started in the first place. All he needed was to find out where they were waiting. He was moving past the elevator when he noticed the ball player that Mary was seeing. He watched as he entered a room and began to pursue him.

* * *

Dershowitz was part way to the warehouse when his cell phone went off. Seeing that it was Stan he quickly answered. "You hear from Marshall?"

"Yes, he confirmed that O'Connor was the shooter and that he killed Derek Jones. Marshall's also been shot but I don't know how badly just that he's on his way to the hospital. He stated O'Connor's on the way here to finish things."

"I'll switch directions and have Roxanne take over the warehouse crime scene. I should be there in less than five minutes." Dershowitz stated before quickly turning the car around and calling Roxanne who he relayed the information and asked her to process the scene. The he floored it towards the hospital.

* * *

Marshall came running into the hospital grateful his blazer was hiding the blood from his shoulder. He was about to head towards Mary's room when he caught a glimpse of O'Connor heading past the elevator and towards the waiting room and pursued while calling Stan.

"Where are you? Stan questioned.

"The hospital, I saw O'Connor and it looks like he's had a change of plans. He's heading towards the waiting room; I'm going to follow." Marshall replied.

"I'll meet you down there." Stan answered.

"No stay with Mary. Get me one of the other marshals. If he changes his mind I'd prefer you were there with Mary."

"I'll call Dershowitz he's on his way here and send one of the men down." Stan quickly dialed Dershowitz and then stepped in the hall to get one of the men down to the waiting room.

Marshall continued to follow and saw O'Connor enter the room and he quickened his pace to get into the room before he could hurt Mary's family.


	7. Chapter 7

O'Connor stepped into the room and saw the disgust written on the Shannon woman and the boyfriend when they saw him walk in. "Long time no see folks."

"Not long enough." Brandi stated. "What are you doing here? They told us you were supposed to stay away."

"Well, I decided to finish killing your sister but she's a little well guarded and the more I think of it the more you started this whole mess." O'Connor pulled his gun out and aimed it at Brandi while the three stood stunned.

"You'll never get away with it Marshall will get you." Brandi stated more bravely than she felt and fighting back the tears as Raph went to move himself in front of her.

"Marshall's dead." O'Connor delighted in the looks of surprise and gasps of shock.

"Not as dead as you'd think." Marshall's voice had a sharp edge to it as he came in pointing the gun at O'Connor. "Put the gun down or I'll kill you."

"I shot you and you were down and not moving." O'Connor stated as he made to reposition himself trying to figure out how Marshall survived.

"I'm not that easy to get rid of O'Connor. Now if you move another inch I'm going to shoot you." Marshall hissed.

"They deserve to die all of them and even you. They ruined my career and Patricia; if Brandi hadn't started this whole mess, things would've been fine." O'Connor stated angrily.

"You got yourself into this mess by sleeping with your partner's wife. The reason your career tanked was that you tried to set Brandi up with false information and we proved what you did; which led to your reprimand with no chance of promotion. That was because of you shady handling of the matter. As far as Patricia Harrison is concerned you both brought that on yourselves. None of this has anything to do with the Shannon's. Maybe if you were man enough to own up to your own shortcomings you'd realize that." Marshall reminded him.

Furiously O'Conner jerked the gun towards Brandi and was about to squeeze the trigger when Marshall shot him. The sound of the Brandi and Jinx screaming filled the waiting room.

O'Connor fell to the floor and Marshall moved over to make sure he was dead. Checking for a pulse and not getting one he moved the gun away from the body before the room started to spin on him. Marshall stepped backwards until his back hit the wall and before he could make sure the others were okay he passed out.

* * *

Dershowitz entered the hospital and as he began to go towards the waiting room he heard the gunfire and the screams of fear. Rushing towards the door he cautiously entered the door before moving in. "Albuquerque P.D." He announced coming into the room.

Looking at the room he saw the one man lying dead on the floor and Marshall lying unconscious near the wall. Mary's family was frozen in place. "Are all of you okay? " Bobby questioned.

"A little frightened but okay." Raph answered for them.

Bobby turned his attention then to Marshall.

"Marshall." Bobby demanded patting his cheeks trying to get him to come to.

Marshall moaned and his eyes squinted. "Dershowitz?" He struggled to get up.

"Stop moving and tell me where you're shot Marshall?"

"Left shoulder." He started to close his eyes again.

"Hey, no sleeping Marshall." Bobby D looked at Mary's family. "I need one of you to get help in here and I need another one of you to get Stan." They stared at each other but no one moved.

"Now!" Bobby D shouted to get them out of their stupor and finally they moved.

Brandi and Jinx both left the room. "You get over here." Bobby told Raph. "I need you to help me remove his blazer so I can see how bad the wound is."

Raph moved over to Marshall and Dershowitz and began to help. They both heard Marshall hiss in pain when they pulled the blazer off his left shoulder. "Sorry Marshall but we need to see it."

"I put a pressure bandage on it." Marshall gasped out fighting to stay conscious and the nausea he was suddenly feeling.

Stan came running into the room to see Raph and Bobby D trying to help Marshall. "How bad is it?" He moved Raph out of the way and moved in.

Marshall looked up at Stan with glazed eyes. "Hey boss."

"I thought I told you to be careful." Stan answered back and Marshall's head bobbed down like he was about to pass out again. "Marshall! Stay with me; you need to stay awake." Stan spoke in his official voice.

"Tired Stan, I'm so tired." Marshall whispered.

"I know you are but it's important." Stan reassured as the medical staff came in and loaded Marshall onto a gurney and wheeled him to the E.R.

* * *

Brandi, Raph, and Jinx were taken to the precinct to give their statements on the incident in the waiting room. Stan informed the hospital staff that he would be in Mary's room and wanted to be informed of Marshall's condition as soon as they knew anything.

Sitting in the hard plastic chair; Stan's attention was torn between watching for Mary to wake up and waiting for word on Marshall. A half hour later Mary began to stir and Stan wasn't looking forward to telling her about her partner.

Mary looked around the room and sensing something was wrong noticed once again the absence of her partner and recalled their conversation before the medicine caused her to sleep. "Where in the hell _is_ Marshall?"

"He's here at the hospital." Stan answered.

"Don't be coy, damn it where is he and what aren't you telling me Stan?" Mary's bad feeling was getting worse and she was getting crankier by the second. "I want the straight honest truth and no sugar coating. Where's my partner?"

"Marshall's in surgery for a bullet wound to his shoulder; he lost a lot of blood between the warehouse and here. O'Connor's dead and so is Derek Jones." Stan answered. "The staff will let me know as soon as they can about Marshall."

"Did O'Connor come after me here?" Mary knew there was more to the story.

"We think he did but saw the detail and went after Brandi; Marshall shot and killed O'Connor to protect your sister and passed out from blood loss. We managed to get him awake and the staff took him to the E.R. and is currently working on him." Stan related. "Your family is at the precinct giving their statements and will be back soon."

"How bad is Marshall?" Mary demanded.

"Mary, right now you know as much as I do." Stan stated frustrated.

"How long has he been in there?" Mary asked.

"About three hours; it could take awhile especially if they have to do a blood transfusion. Try and relax, please." Stan added.

Before Mary had a chance to answer her family returned and she was bombarded with the theatrics that naturally came with them.

"Oh Mary do you have any idea what we've been through?" Jinx asked her daughter. "And all of this because of your job?"

That statement angered Mary. "What I know is that once again the whole Chuck incident came back and that had nothing to do with my job. That had everything to do with Brandi's ex-boyfriend and now Marshall and I are paying the price for it."

Stan looked down and away from her family to hide his smile of approval.

Brandi looked ashamed and down. "I'm sorry Mary."

"I'm not mad at you Brandi but don't any of you dare start with this being about my job or getting a different one because that will never happen." Mary stated adamantly.

"You can't be serious about staying in this job? You need to transfer to a different job; this isn't acceptable and I don't want to go through this again with you." Raph stated angrily. "After we're married you will need to change from this job."

"Then I guess we're never getting married and you can get your crap out of my house." Mary was furious. "You don't get to dictate to me what I can and can't do for a living."

The nurse came in as she noted the increase in heart rate and blood pressure on her patient. "Is everything okay in here?"

"Just a disagreement." Mary answered.

"Well you need to keep them down as you shouldn't be getting worked up." The nurse warned. "If it continues your visitors will have to leave." She made to leave.

"Wait, could you please find out how Marshall Mann is doing?" Mary asked. "He's in surgery in the O.R. with a gunshot wound."

"I'll see what I can find out." The nurse stated before leaving.

"What is taking so long and Stan if he gets to come to ICU see if you can get them to let us share a room? It'll be much better for all concerned." Mary figured it would be harder for her to sneak out to see him but she'd find away if necessary.

"I'll head down to the O.R and see what I can find out and arrange." Stan exited the room not wanting to be a part of that conversation and knowing the nurse had rounds to do.

Mary glared at him knowing that he was escaping her family and leaving her to deal with them on her own. "Let me know the second you know something." Stan nodded and then left.

"Mary you shouldn't be sharing a hospital room with Marshall what will people think?" Jinx asked horrified.

"I don't care what people think and it's not like we've never shared a room before." Mary pointed out the obvious. "We do it on trips for work all the time."

"Well I don't like it any more than I like your job." Raph replied back. "This needs to stop."

"Too bad, Marshall is the most important person in my life and if you think that because you've got an issue with it that I'm going to change my mind you're seriously mistaken." Mary glared at him.

"He's the most important person in your life?" Raph fumed. "You need to decide if you want me or Marshall to be in your life because you can't have both."

"Well it's been nice knowing you Raph, don't forget to pack your things and leave my house before I return. I'm not letting Marshall out of my life. He's my best and only friend and the person I can count on the most." Mary couldn't believe his nerve.

Jinx and Brandi were stunned. "Mary!" Jinx cried out in anger at her.

"My house my rules; you don't like it you can join him." Mary was tired of her family and needed to know how Marshall was.

Stan picked that moment to walk in and could feel the tension in the room. "How's it going?"

"Raph was just leaving so he can move out of my house and my life and Jinx was about to decide if she would be joining him or not. What's the word on Marshall?" Mary asked as Raph left the room disgusted and angry with her.

Stan could tell she wasn't kidding and was glad he'd left the room. "He's still in surgery. Luckily there wasn't any major damage to his muscles in his shoulder and they repaired and sewed it up. They had a complication with the blood transfusion and needed to make sure it wasn't something more serious. He spiked a fever when they started so they had to do some extra precautions before they could continue with giving him any more blood. They said it will be a few more hours and than they'll move him to ICU. I've managed to get them to put you both in this room."

"So basically he'll be okay as long as there are no complications?" Mary asked for clarification.

"Correct but they will monitor him closely to make sure he doesn't have a more severe reaction to the transfusion." Stan stated.


	8. Chapter 8

Dershowitz came into Mary's room and looked at Stan. "Any word on Marshall?" He asked.

"No." Mary answered grumpily. "They're over and hour late with what they told Stan."

Stan nodded and since Brandi and Jinx had left for the remainder of the day he asked. "What did you find at the warehouse?"

"From what we could piece together, O'Connor had to have been across from Marshall on the other side of the warehouse when he shot him. We found some blood that we assume will match Marshall's DNA on the warehouse floor by a shelving unit. He was probably talking to Derek when he was shot and O'Connor shot Derek in the head; he died instantly. According to what Mary's family stated O'Connor thought Marshall was dead and that's probably why he's still alive." Dershowitz summarized.

"Why all of this?" Mary asked.

"According to what he said in front of your family it was that he blamed you and Brandi for everything that went wrong. Marshall mentioned he was reprimanded with no further chance of promotion after the last incident with Brandi. The rest Marshall will have to fill in." Dershowitz shrugged.

The door opened as he finished and they pushed Marshall into the room and hooked him up. The nurse looked at the three anxious people in the room. "Don't expect much he'll probably sleep for several hours before waking up at the minimum."

"Is he okay?" Mary asked not liking how pale Marshall looked.

"So far everything is looking fine; provided he has no reaction to the transfusion and no problems with infection to the gunshot wound he should be." The nurse said before leaving.

Stan helped Mary into a better sitting position and moved to the other side of the bed so she could see Marshall better. "He's tough Mary. He'll be fine. Why don't you get some sleep and the time will pass by faster." Stan suggested when he got a good look at her face.

"Because we just set me up so I could see him and I'm not going through the pain of moving again." Mary admonished.

"Fine have it your way." Stan said frustrated but smiled when she fell asleep fifteen minutes later.

"You realize the nursing staff will be calling you about those two begging for their release when they're both back to their version of normal." Dershowitz cautioned Stan.

Stan smiled at him. "I wouldn't have it any other way." The two men chuckled knowing their days would be dull until Mary and Marshall were back at work.

* * *

Mary woke a few hours later to Stan sitting in the middle trying to keep an eye on both of them. She hid a smirk and than looked at Stan.

"Any sign of him waking up?" Mary questioned.

"Not yet, look I need to go back to the office, call me when he does." Stan handed her Marshall's phone. "I'm leaving a detail outside just as a precautionary measure for a couple of days. I'm pretty sure there's nothing to worry about but I'm not taking any chances. Take care of yourself." Stan left.

Mary nodded the shifted around while keeping an eye on Marshall. She grimaced in pain but ignored it as she finally got herself situated. She wasn't used to Marshall being so still and it bothered her to see him lying there that way. The nurse stopped in to check on both of them.

"How's the pain?" She asked Mary.

"Not too bad." Mary lied she didn't feel like telling her that it was sore she had other things to be checking on like her partner and the fact he was still asleep.

"Really is that why your face looks scrunched up?" The nurse got a kick out of her now conscious patient stubborn streak.

"Fine it hurts; you happy now?" Mary grumbled.

"No, but I can give you something for the pain." The nurse said.

"Will it make me fall asleep?" Mary glanced at Marshall.

The nurse noticed the glance. "Yes it will and if you're lucky he'll wake up by tomorrow morning. Not only is his body healing from the injuries but your friend spent most if not all of his free time by your bedside. His body is worn out and with all the medication in his system he should be sleeping for awhile. This is what you should be doing also." The nurse reprimanded her. "You haven't even been awake for a full day. While in some sense that's a good thing in another you're pushing yourself to hard."

"Well you're a spoilsport." Mary complained.

"Just wait till tomorrow; they're talking about trying to get you upward and mobile for a few minutes." She cautioned before increasing her pain medication and lowering her back to a laying position.

"Really? Mary asked excited not thinking about how much it'd hurt to move.

* * *

Brandi arrived in the morning to see Mary sitting up in bed casting worried glances towards Marshall's sleeping form.

"Hey." Brandi greeted.

"Hey Squish." Mary greeted back.

"How are you and how's Marshall?" Brandi asked.

"Sore and taking his sweet ass time to wake up." Mary snapped.

"Good to see you're your usual self again. Give Marshall a break he was so far beyond pushing his limits you'll be lucky he doesn't sleep for a week." Brandi informed.

"What do you mean?" Mary asked wanting Brandi's side of the story.

"Marshall would work all day and stay here all night; Stan finally forced Marshall to go home and get some sleep after having a doctor look him over. I think the doctor gave him something to help him sleep; that I'm not sure of. He had circles under his eyes that were multiplying. He wouldn't stop pushing himself to find the shooter." Brandi related.

"Dumb Doofus." Mary muttered affectionately under her breath.

"He saved my life. Raph has been packing his things up and should be moved out shortly." Brandi watched her reaction.

"Good; who does he think he is trying to force me to choose him over Marshall? Like that would ever happen." Mary huffed.

"Maybe that's what Chico needed to know. Mary, I know you cared about him but let's face facts he's not the man that you're in love with." Brandi replied.

"What are you trying to say?" Mary asked suspiciously.

"Mary you're blind when it comes to what is right in front of you or in this case next to you. The two of you are in love with each other and you're too damn scared to tell Marshall because of Dad leaving us. That's why you said yes to Chico; if he left you than you'd be okay but if Marshall ever leaves you that wouldn't be the case." Brandi answered. "I'm not stupid you know I see more than you realize."

Mary ignored that as she wasn't ready to deal with what Squish had just said. "How mad is Jinx?'

"She'll come around; you know her as soon as she's gotten the drama out of her system she'll get over it." Brandi shrugged.

Mary was about to reply when she heard a groan coming from Marshall's bed. "Marshall?" When he didn't answer she looked at Brandi.

Brandi saw the look on Mary's face and got up to look at Marshall. His hair was soaked to his forehead. She touched it and felt it burning up. "Mary he's burning up."

Mary hit the call button to get the nurse in right away. She came into the room and headed straight to Marshall. Grabbing the curtain she sent Brandi over by Mary and closed them off. The doctor arrived shortly and all they could do was listen to what the doctor and nurse said.

"He's getting an infection around the wound; let's get him started on some antibiotics." The doctor ordered immediately.

The nurse pulled the curtain was pulled back smiling at Mary. "Don't fret he has an infection and we're giving him antibiotics to fight it." She patted Mary's arm before leaving. "I'll be back later with some helpers to get you on your feet for a little bit and then we can sit you in a chair for awhile."

"Can we put the chair next to Marshall?" Mary asked hopefully.

"You two are going to be a handful aren't you?" The nurse chided but could tell she was worried about her partner. "I think I can arrange that as long as you don't go trying to wake him up."

"I'll behave." Mary silently cursed the nurse for ruining her plan but if she was able to sit by Marshall than she could touch his hand to let him know she was there waiting for him.

Brandi snorted but stopped when Mary glared at her. "I have to go to class; I'll see you later.

* * *

Stan stopped in while Mary was taking a few baby steps. He watched as she grimaced in pain. He noted the chair by Marshall and was about to sit at it when he heard Mary warn him sternly.

"That's my chair Stan and don't even think about taking it because by the time I manage to get there I'll need it." She hissed through clenched teeth.

Stan smirked and grabbed another chair and pulled it near Marshall. "How's he doing?" He said trying to distract her from the pain that was so clearly evident on her face.

"The fever's gone and the infection seems to be clearing up with the antibiotics." The nurse supplied.

"When do you think he'll wake up?" Stan questioned.

"That depends entirely on his body and him. He was worn out before he ended up admitted so he might be getting the extra sleep his body needed. Right now we aren't too worried about that. We're keeping a close eye on him and if we have any concerns we'll let you know." The nurse informed him.

Mary finally made it too the chair and they helped her sit down in it. "Holy crap." She exclaimed as she sat down. "Let's not do that again any time soon."

"We'll let you sit for awhile before walking you back." The nurse smiled and left the room.

"I think she likes torturing people Stan. You might want to have her checked out." Mary said pushing her chair even closer to Marshall and reaching for his hand.

"Is this mess over with Stan?" Mary asked.

"From what we can tell yes; Patricia Harrison told O'Connor that what they'd done had been a mistake and shared the blame with him over Max's death. The other agents and wives shunned her basically because of it and that made O'Connor upset. Than after Marshall and you cleared Brandi; he was reprimanded with no chance of promotion and he lost it. Derek Jones was asked to investigate O'Connor since he didn't know who he was. We haven't been able to find anyone else involved. The only thing left is for the two of you to heal up so the office can get back to normal." Stan stated.

"Brandi said Marshall wore himself out and that you had a doctor look at him." Mary looked for confirmation.

"He reacted the same way you did when he was shot except he was out looking for the killer and when he wasn't he would spend the nights here. They gave him something to help get him to sleep. It was hard on him because he still blames himself for not being there that night. You're the only one who can give him peace of mind on that part. It might take awhile but you know how that goes." Stan stated knowing she blamed herself for the Lola incident even though Marshall didn't; he wouldn't have known either except Mary had been too tired to notice him walk in on her apologizing to her unconscious partner.

"Thanks for taking care of him." Mary smiled at Stan.

"Well he's all yours again." Stan teased.

"Don't threaten an injured man, it's not nice." Marshall's shaky voice answered them as he struggled to open his eyes.

"Welcome back Marshall." Stan smiled. "I'll go get the nurse."

When Stan left Marshall felt the hand in his and tilted his head. His eyes widened in surprise. "Mare?" A tear slid down his cheek.

Mary ignored the pain in her abdomen as she moved to swipe the tear away with her thumb. "Doofus don't go getting sentimental on me now. It took a lot of work for Stan to get us into the same room. We both know they don't normally do that and he had to say it was for safety reasons."

The nurse and doctor came in with Stan before he could answer her.

"Mr. Mann how are you feeling this morning?" The doctor questioned.

"Sore, tired." Marshall didn't have the strength to lie.

"Well you lost a lot of blood but we did a transfusion and we patched up your shoulder which is why you're sore. The tiredness is a combination of the medicine your on and the lack of sleep prior to your admittance. You had an infection forming in your shoulder wound which we treated with antibiotics and that has cleared it up. We are going to keep you in ICU for a few days as a precaution with the fever you spiked while getting the transfusion and to keep an eye on the shoulder wound." The doctor told him as he finished checking him over and then left the room.

Stan looked at Marshall once the doctor left. "Dershowitz is going to need to stop by to get your statement of what happened at the warehouse."

"Okay." Marshall answered softly.

Mary could tell how exhausted he really was. "Why don't you close your eyes and get some more sleep Doofus? You look like you need it."

"I'm okay." Marshall was scared that if he closed his eyes she wouldn't be there when he woke up.

Mary sensing where his thoughts were headed replied. "I'll be here when you wake up. Sleep Marshall."

"You're getting kind of bossy already." Marshall teased but closed his eyes and drifted off.

Mary looked at Stan. "Can you help me lower the rail?"

"You're worried about nightmares." Stan stated and did what she asked knowing if he had any she would be the one to calm Marshall down.

"Thanks Stan." Mary stated relieved knowing how the guilt plagued her mind after he'd been shot.

"It might be too soon for the nightmares Mary; they're still medicating him." Stan cautioned.

"I know but I'd rather be safe than sorry. Beside when does he ever follow normal patterns?" Mary questioned their boss.

"Alright, I'm heading into work. I'll let Dershowitz know he's awake but ask him to give Marshall a day." Stan got up and headed out.

"Alright buddy it's just you and me again." Mary stated knowing he couldn't hear but not caring. She held his hand and laid her head on the side of the bed and swiftly fell asleep.

The nurse walked in to check on them and smiled at what she saw. Quickly she checked on Marshall and made some notes on his chart before leaving the room.


	9. Chapter 9

Dershowitz arrived the next morning to get Marshall's statement; entering the room he noted Mary sitting in the chair next to the bed where her partner was still asleep.

"Are you supposed to be up?" He asked.

"Part of the daily torture to see how much pain I can endure walking to the chair and being allowed to sit in it." Mary replied sarcastically.

"Don't they say near death experience make people more appreciative of things?" Bobby D asked.

"Mary follows her own rules." Marshall stated waking up. "Beside some studies say they can have the opposite affect."

"Only you would know this." Mary chided.

"You up for some questions?" Dershowitz asked.

"Sure, I know you need to get the paperwork done." Marshall stated and answered all of Bobby's questions.

Mary listened intently to what happened and was thankful that Marshall was still here. She waited for Dershowitz to leave before saying anything. "You want to talk about it with me or are you okay?"

"I never suspected O'Connor after we found out who Derek was. I should've known better." Marshall chastised himself.

"From what I understand you weren't sleeping and were pushing yourself to hard. You're damn lucky to be alive." Mary warned him.

"I had to find him Mare." Marshall stated trying to express how important it was to him. "I _had_ to."

"Look at me because I know where you are headed with this and it wasn't your fault. I told you to leave after you asked me if I wanted you to stay. I knew the situation could elevate and thought I could handle it alone and when I worried I asked Dershowitz to send a patrol by. None of this is your fault nor will it ever be. Make room in that head of yours for that very important information. If you can keep all that useless information in there you can store the important stuff too." Mary lectured him.

"Mare you weren't breathing and I thought that you weren't going to make it. It's not that easy to let go." Marshall's voice cracked with pain at the memory. "I should've been there; I'm supposed to have your back." He looked away from her not wanting her to see the pain.

"Marshall, look at me." Mary demanded. "I'm telling you it wasn't your fault and you need to stop punishing yourself for it. I know how hard it is to watch; when you were the one shot it hurt me too."

"It's not the same; you were there when it happened not out on a stupid date." Marshall reminded.

"Well if I hadn't been so angry with you I might have noticed them sooner and you wouldn't have gotten hurt. If you weren't a walking encyclopedia of medical procedures I couldn't have saved you." Mary tried to get through to Marshall but he wasn't buying into it and she could tell it. They would need to heal together in more ways than one. "You need to get some more sleep and we'll talk about this some more later. You're not off the hook Doofus." She brushed the tears away from his cheek after he fell asleep not noticing Stan behind her.

"How's he doing?" Stan asked causing Mary to jerk suddenly and reach for her side in pain.

"Warn a girl would you?" Mary snapped. "He's a mess. How do I get him to understand it wasn't his fault?"

"How did you stop blaming yourself for Lola?" Stan asked. "Mary he hasn't had time to process everything; he's either been here with you or out looking for the person that shot you. Give him time to deal with all of it and just be there for him. Marshall's been there every step of the way for you since you became partners now it's your turn to help him and by doing so it might just help you also. You're not as different as you seem to think."

"Stan, I hate to break your delusions but we are night and day or fire and ice if you get my drift." Mary chided.

"Really? You both would do anything to protect each other and the people you care about. You're both private people and Marshall probably more than you on that one. How much do any of us really know about his past? You both feed off each other's emotions and would die to protect the other one. Some how the two of you meshed together and became a force to be reckoned with; the downside is that you both hurt more when the other one is hurting and you're both lost when the other half isn't there." Stan pointed out what Mary refused to see.

Mary filed that to the back of her brain to think over after Stan left. "So what brings you by for a visit? You miss us already?"

"Just wanted to see how you were both doing and let you know the FBI is launching an investigation into what happened." Stan shrugged.

"They're not trying to blame Marshall for what happened?" Mary asked suspiciously.

"No they wanted to make sure Derek and O'Connor weren't working together and that was why O'Connor shot him." Stan stated.

"Good he doesn't need that too." Mary looked towards her partner. They talked while Marshall slept on until Stan had to leave for the office.

* * *

A week had passed and Mary sat in her hospital bed frustrated. She had wanted to talk to Marshall more about his guilt and hadn't been able to. Between her physical therapy, the never ending visitors, and Marshall being moved to a regular room and then discharged they hadn't been able to discuss any of it.

Mary knew that Stan and Dershowitz had been periodically stopping by to check on Marshall but it wasn't the same. She needed to see him and know he was alright. There was something that Stan and Dershowitz weren't telling he and she was determined to get to the bottom of it. She was about to be released in another day per the doctor and Mary had made up her mind she'd be recovering at Marshall's so he couldn't escape her. Her thoughts were interrupted by the arrival of Stan.

"How's Marshall?" She spewed out before he was halfway into the room.

"Good Morning to you too." Stan answered sarcastically.

"Yeah, yeah. Well?" Mary replied anxiously.

Stan rolled his eyes at her. "He's recovering fairly well; his physical therapy for his shoulders is proceeding nicely."

"Stan what aren't you telling me about him?" Mary demanded. "Something has you worried and don't lie you have a scowl on your face and I need to know before you or whoever drops me off at his place tomorrow."

Stan raised his eyebrow at that. "Is Marshall aware of these plans?"

"No and he'll find out when I arrive. Now stop stalling." She demanded.

"Physically he's fine; mentally and emotionally he's still struggling with everything and I don't think he's sleeping well." Stan answered.

"He's been blaming himself for what happened; that's why I want to go to his place. We need to work this out and the best way for us to do that is together. I don't blame him Stan and never would. He would've stayed if I asked him to but I told him he could go."

"He mentioned it to me the night you were shot; but knowing it logically and emotionally are two different things. You struggled with what happened to Marshall for a long time and it's still a sore spot with you and don't even bother to tell me I'm wrong. I'm not blind Mary on the rare occasion the incident it mentioned you look away or stare at Marshall's chest where the wound was."

Mary huffed at Stan but couldn't deny it. "Tomorrow when I get there we can start fixing it. So are you going to pick me up? I need to have my family pack some of my stuff."

Stan wasn't about to argue with her and he was worried about Marshall. "Fine; I'll find out what time you'll be released and you can let your family know to bring your things."

Mary smiled and called Brandi knowing Jinx would be less than thrilled about the arrangements while Stan went to talk to the nurse.


	10. Chapter 10

Marshall had talked to Dershowitz earlier in the day and assured him he was fine. He knew it was a lie but he didn't want to talk about what happened. Mary was getting out today and he was glad but worried knowing they would eventually to finish the conversation that she'd started in the hospital. It was a discussion he wasn't looking forward to; a part of him hadn't been able to let go of the idea that at some point Mary would blame him for everything and be right. The nightmares he'd been having about Mary before he'd been shot had come back with a vengeance and he hadn't been sleeping much he knew Stan and Dershowitz were worried but tried to keep them reassured. The doorbell rang and he wondered which of the pair was stopping by now.

Marshall opened his door and to his surprise found Mary at the door and Stan pulling away. Mary walked in and dropped her away bag by the door and headed for the couch waiting to see what would happen as soon as the stunned look disappeared from his face.

Marshall stayed still for a few minutes staring at the bag on the floor. "Mare is something wrong?"

Mary looked at him casually. "Nope, just figured it would be more peaceful here to recover with you then dealing with Jinx. You always said I could stay when I like."

Marshall swallowed the panic swelling up inside him. "Oh." His brain had turned to mush trying to figure out how to handle this new twist in his situation.

"Sit and don't talk in one word sentences it's not becoming of you and its kind of creepy." Mary knew he was worried about something or he would've reacted differently to her coming here.

Marshall sat in a chair near Mary but not next to her like usual. "I won't break if you sit next to me." She stated lightly but her concern was rising quickly.

"I don't want to jostle your wound and hurt you." Marshall said softly.

"Doofus get your ass onto this couch and sit next to me and start talking about whatever it is that is bothering you because you're stuck with me for awhile and I'm not going to have you walking on egg shells with me. This isn't you and I want my best friend back." Mary lectured.

"Is that why you're here?" Marshall questioned.

"Yes because we both have issues to deal with it and we're the best people for helping each other. You've got all of us worried and I can tell you're not sleeping right. You're blaming yourself for something that wasn't remotely your fault and I know what it's like to feel that guilt. I had and still have it with the Lola incident and now you have it with O'Connor. Neither of us should blame ourselves but neither of us can let it go." Mary couldn't believe she was being this honest but if it saved Marshall from himself than it was worth it. 'Unfortunately for you; you're the only person who seems to get me and I need that right now to heal also. You scratch my back and I'll scratch yours."

"What if I can't?" Marshall wasn't sure he could have this conversation now and possibly never.

"You can and I know that; you're strong Marshall we both are. We do our best work together so after we both get some sleep; especially you than we can start dealing with it." Mary stated firmly.

"I don't want to sleep Mare." Marshall told her honestly.

"Why not?" She demanded. When he couldn't look her in the eye she gently forced him to. "Why not Marshall? You can't continue this way and I'm not willing to lose you so start talking."

Marshall was frustrated because he knew she wasn't going to let this go. "I'm tired of the nightmares alright."

'What are they about?" Mary asked.

"Look forget about it for now; I'm tired and so are you. Let's just relax for awhile okay." Marshall didn't want to fight or discuss this.

Mary got up awkwardly trying to cause the least amount of pain and Marshall moved in to help. Once he offered her a hand she refused to let it go and pulled him towards his room. "Now lay down and I'll join you. We can help each other if there are nightmares."

Marshall let Mary grab a side before lying down next to her. "Do you need anything?" he questioned reaching down to grab the quilt he had on the end of the bed and covering them.

"Just you to start getting some sleep." Mary answered moving so that she could keep and eye on him without pulling on her injury and then rested an arm over his waist. "Sleep Marshall." She whispered.

Marshall closed his eyes and tried to even out his breathing so that Mary would think he was asleep; his plan was to get her to rest and then he could get up so there'd be no nightmares. His plan backfired when he relaxed with her present and fell asleep.

Mary smiled when she knew he'd stopped pretending to be asleep and drifted off to sleep her self. She was awoken by movement on the bed a few hours later and when she opened her eyes she saw Marshall covered in sweat as his body thrashed back and forth caught in his nightmare. She grabbed his arm and shook him trying to get him to wake up.

"Marshall! Marshall, wake up."

Marshall was confused; in his dream Mary was yelling at him for not being there for her and yet he felt like she was telling him to wake up at the same time. She was on the gurney looking at him telling him this is what happens when you leave your partner. Startled by the shaking and the yelling he shot up.

"Mare I'm sorry. I wouldn't have left if I'd thought you couldn't handle it." His voice choked out. "Please forgive me."

Mary felt the tears fill her eyes at his pain filled words. "Oh Marshall." She sighed and it seemed to catch his attention as he turned towards her.

Marshall quickly scanned her body to make sure there was no blood as he tried to calm down. "You're okay?" He whispered softly.

"Marshall what are you dreams about and why are you waking up apologizing to me for?" Mary had to know; it was scaring her to hear him hurt that much and knowing it was caused by her indirectly wasn't helping. He shook his head no and turned to get off the bed when she grabbed his arm pulling him back down.

"It doesn't matter Mary; you need to heal and we should be focusing on that and not worrying about me." Marshall stated defensively.

"I can do both and you look worse than I do. Talk to me before I get angry and have to hurt you." Mary threatened.

He rolled his eyes and started fidgeting with the end of the quilt knowing once again he'd give in to her. "There different but similar." He started noting she waited for him to continue. "Sometimes it's you lying on the gurney with the bullet wound blaming me for what happened and other times it's you telling me I wasn't there for you when you needed me and that you wanted a new partner. Other times you don't survive and everyone tells me how badly I failed you and I should be the one dead." Marshall shrugged.

Mary cupped his face and he finally looked at her with tear filled eyes. "I would never want a different partner; I happen to like the one I've got. You've never ever failed me and I don't blame you for this; need I remind you of the conversation in the hospital? You asked to stay and I sent you on your way. It was my call; and I was glad you weren't there because you would've pushed me out of the way and taken the bullet and it might've killed you. I can't stand the idea of losing you any more than you can stand the idea of losing me. We're a team and we stay that way. I know the nightmares will still come but Marshall you've got circles on top of circles under your eyes. Stan might've forced you to sleep but it wasn't enough and it was before you were shot. Lie back down and we'll get more sleep before we talk again." Mary linked her hand with Marshall's and listened until his breathing evened out as he fell asleep then she followed suit.

Marshall woke this time to Mary having a nightmare and he tried to limit her movements so she wouldn't hurt herself while he attempted to wake her up by gently shaking her arm.

"Mary, wake up. Mare, come on it's a nightmare." Marshall stated before ducking away from the fist that came flying at him.

Mary was reliving the shooting and when she felt something on her arm she went into survival mode and came out swinging. When Marshall's voice penetrated her mind and his hand caught her fist she stared at him in shock.

"Are you okay?" Mary asked horrified that she's almost struck Marshall.

"I believe that's the question I should be asking you." Marshall replied back.

"I almost hit you." Mary reminded.

"I know I dodged, it was from the nightmare and I'm fine. Your turn to spill the beans; what are yours about?" Marshall asked.

Mary wanted to say nothing but if she closed off than Marshall would do the same. "The shooting; seeing O'Connor and his gun and yelling about the gun before falling backwards and then everything go blank. I don't like the gaps or holes in my memories."

"We're a great pair aren't we?" Marshall stated flatly. "You're more than likely going to never get parts of the gap filled Mary. You were unconscious and not breathing; no one expects you to remember every detail."

"You read to me while I was out; I remember hearing your voice and feeling safe when you were reading." Mary had been recalling conversations and bits and pieces but most of them seemed to focus on Marshall. "You told me it wasn't my time." She saw the tears in his eyes as he nodded yes to what she'd said.

Marshall felt Mary brush the tears from his face as he'd been recalling her being wheeled into the ER. "What else do you recall?"

"Stan saying something about you and I became worried. I think it had to do with O'Connor; you were angry with someone while I was unconscious. It's odd but there are little pieces but not the whole picture." Mary shrugged.

"The more you try to force the memories the harder it will be and then you'll just get frustrated and cranky. It will come in time if it's meant to." Marshall stated not filling her in on what he'd been angry about at the hospital.

"You were angry at the hospital." Mary stated knowingly. "Why?"

"O'Connor came into your room stating that he wanted to talk to me; not sure now what he really wanted. I made him leave and sent him to Stan. He shouldn't have been allowed in your room and we had the hospital staff to keep him out." Marshall shrugged.

Mary leaned over and kissed his cheek. "Thanks that probably would've set off the monitors if I'd known he was there."

"He could've been there to kill you Mare. If we hadn't been pulling shifts who knows what might've happened." He felt the shiver go up his spine at that thought.

"See I told you that I trust you with my back." Mary said smugly but noticed the flash of guilt in Marshall's eyes. "Don't you dare be blaming yourself for that either. Marshall you are not responsible for everything that happens to me or those around you. You can't keep barring that burden or you'll destroy yourself. Trust me on this; I've got plenty of experience." She cautioned.

"Mary what have I protected you from? You've been kidnapped and where was I? Nowhere that I needed to be and when you get shot oh yeah I was on a stupid useless date. Where exactly have I covered your back?" Marshall felt the anger at himself rise.

"Everyday you protect me from the world and the world from me. You've supported me through all of my family's dramas and helped me clear Brandi. You forced yourself up after taking a bullet in the chest and shot the people who would've killed me if you hadn't. How many hours did you spend between the hospital providing support and out on the streets looking for the shooter and if that isn't enough of a reminder than take a good look at your shoulder buddy because you could've died trying to get the person who shot me." Mary's voice rose in tone at the last part because the thought of him alone in the warehouse with Agent Asshole for backup still made her angry and if he hadn't thought he killed Marshall than he would've taken another shot and done it.

"I had to find the person responsible Mary; I owed you that much and more." Marshall stated adamantly.

"What does it take to get through that thick skull of yours that it wasn't worth your life and it wasn't your fault? If you can't do that for yourself than do it for me because if something happens to you I don't know what I'd do. You are the only constant in my life and I need you to stay in it."

"I'll try Mare but it's not that easy; I almost lost you and I don't know if I could've survived that." Marshall needed her to understand that part.

"Fine if we go we go together. I can live with that but nothing less. Do I make myself perfectly clear?" She asked sternly and was rewarded with a slight chuckle.

"I don't know do we need to pinky swear?" Marshall teased lightly.

"No I trust your word." Mary smiled.

"Did you know that originally the pinky swear indicated that the person who breaks the promise must cut off their pinky finger?" Marshall quizzed.

"No and where did it originate oh wise one?" Mary asked knowing Marshall needed to get back to a sense of normalcy for them.

"Supposedly, the Pinky Promise began back in the Edo Period as a gesture of devotion that prostitutes would make with their favorite customers. The "cutting" of the pinky signified the women severing her own finger as a sign of eternal affection for her partner, essentially saying that she loves him enough to commit _shinju_ or ritual lovers' suicide with him." Marshall answered.

"That's just wrong." Mary stated and scrunched her face in disgust.

Marshall chuckled fighting back a yawn. "You asked." He reminded.

"Remind me not to do that again. Get some sleep Doofus you need it and so do I." She nestled up closer to Marshall and they both drifted off to sleep again.

* * *

A week had past and Mary was seriously worried about Marshall; so much that she'd actually called Stan and asked him to stop by the house at some point to make sure she wasn't overreacting. She suspected that the nightmares were still there; though he never woke her. She could tell he wasn't sleeping well, and his appetite seemed almost nonexistent.

Marshall was at his physical therapy session when Stan showed up and Mary let him in; he noted that she was moving around better and was looking a whole lot better.

"Mary, how are you doing?" Stan asked.

"It's not me you need to worry about." Mary stated firmly. "When's the last time you saw Marshall?"

"It's been awhile; probably since the day I dropped you off. Why?" Stan asked.

"He's not sleeping right but tries to make sure I don't know about it and he's losing weight he can't afford to. This whole thing is eating him up and no matter how hard I try to get through to him it doesn't seem to be helping. I'm worried Stan, and I mean really worried." Mary spewed out.

Stan could tell by the tone of her voice that she wasn't kidding. "I'll have Eleanor pick you up so Marshall and I can talk. Maybe he's trying not to upset you with what's going on with him; we'll get to the bottom of it, alright?" Stan dialed Eleanor and she came and took Mary out.

* * *

Eleanor noticed how quiet Mary was since she'd picked her up and nothing she tried could even get her to bite back.

"Alright what's going on?" Eleanor demanded having had enough of the silence and listened while Mary repeated to her what she told Stan. "Is it a reaction to your shooting, his or both?"

"I don't know but something has to give or we're going to lose him. He's slipping away from me Eleanor and he's never done that before. It's like he's here but not here; I don't know how to explain it." Mary stated hoping to get another input on the subject matter.

"Marshall has been through a lot with you over the last year from the kidnapping to the shooting. He's been the strong and dependable one for you, your family, and even the job, when needed but has he allowed himself time to deal with everything? Maybe the best thing for him would be to take a break from all of this and refresh his mind and body." Eleanor suggested.

"I don't want him alone Eleanor; I'm scared of what will happen to him." Mary admitted. She saw the shocked look on Eleanor's face. "He wouldn't kill himself but he's barely eating now and I'm worried without someone to keep an eye on him, he might not eat or sleep and then we'll have a bigger problem when he comes back."

"Alright why don't we get something to eat and put our heads together; since it's for Marshall I'm willing to work with you to help him." Eleanor teased. Mary's simple nod instead of a biting retort spoke volumes to Eleanor about how worried she really was for her partner.


	11. Chapter 11

Stan waited for Marshall to arrive and when he walked through the door he understood Mary's concern. There were circles under his eyes and he looked too thin.

"How was physical therapy?" Stan asked startling Marshall.

"Good. The shoulder is healing well and I'm able to move it better. I should be back in shape in no time." Marshall shrugged.

"What about eating and sleeping?" Stan questioned.

"Did Mary call you?"

"She's worried and after looking at you I can see why. Have you looked in a mirror lately? When is the last time you slept or ate?" Stan could tell Marshall was getting agitated and that was unlike him.

"What now you're my father?" Marshall bit out in frustration. "Why can't either of you just leave me alone?"

"Because we care and we're worried. You know full well it had to be bad if Mary called for reinforcements." Stan decided to only answer the second question. "When's the last time you slept and don't lie because you look horrid. This isn't healthy and you need help."

Marshall plopped on the closest chair. "I've tried Stan and every night I wake up sweating and damn near screaming. Food has no taste anymore; I try and eat and most of the time I can't keep it down." He finally admitted.

"I'm taking you to the hospital and having you looked over, no arguments." Stan stated firmly and Marshall nodded his ascent and they headed out. "You've been under a lot of stress so it's probably related to that but Marshall you need to tell us when you're hurting, sick, not eating, or sleeping. Mary isn't the only person we worry about and shouldn't be the only one you worry about. You're every bit as important to us as she is. All you have to do is ask for help. Let's go."

Stan waited while Marshall was being looked at and the doctor came out to talk to him while Marshall was still in the back.

"Mr. McQueen?" The doctor asked walking up to him.

"Yes, how's Marshall?" Stan asked immediately.

"Mr. Mann is suffering from insomnia caused from stress that's also affecting his appetite. I've prescribed him some sedatives and suggested doing a workout to help with the insomnia. I've recommended some protein shakes if he feels he can't eat food but he does need to begin eating. The drinks will help with some of the nutrients he's currently not getting. Keep an eye on him and if nothing changes than he needs to be seen again." The doctor informed.

"Thank you." Stan stated to the doctor and waited for Marshall to come out. They went and picked up his prescriptions and some of the protein shakes the doctor recommended.

* * *

Eleanor and Mary had returned to Marshall's and when they found the boys weren't there Mary began to pace back and forth worried. Eleanor had enough after fifteen minutes.

"Mary, sit down and relax. Marshall is with Stan and you know he's not going to let anything happen to him. If you don't stop pacing on the other hand I doubt you'll live long enough to find out what's going on." Eleanor stated firmly.

Mary glared but finally complied, much to Eleanor's relief. "Where did they go?" Frustration was raging through Mary and not being able to pace and work it out wasn't helping.

They heard a car pull up and saw Stan and Marshall coming. "Well now we get to find out." Eleanor told Mary who was already up and opening the door.

Mary opened the door and as Stan and Marshall entered she burst out. "Where the hell have you two been and why didn't you tell us you were going somewhere?"

"Didn't know we had to report in Mom." Marshall snipped at her before heading back towards his room.

Mary was about to say something and follow when Stan stopped her. "I'll explain in a few minutes; let me talk to him first and then I'll explain." When he walked into the room Marshall was laying on the bed staring at the ceiling; Stan headed towards the bathroom and found a cup and filled it with water. Heading back to Marshall he opened his prescription handed him the pill and the glass of water.

"Take this, swallow it and wash it down." Stan ordered. Marshall reluctantly complied making a face as he swallowed. "They're worried about you and there's no need to snap at them. I'm also going to schedule some extra time with a department shrink for you. Not Shelley. You _will _go to the appointment. When you wake up you need to eat something or have a shake. Mary and I will be keeping an eye on you." Stan warned. "I know you've got a lot of things that you're trying to sort out but you need to let us help you. This can't continue Marshall and we won't let it. We're all here for you if you need to talk."

"I'm sorry." Marshall whispered softly and Stan watched at the sedative kicked in quickly and he drifted to sleep finally.

"I know you are. Just sleep." He pulled a blanket over him and headed out towards Eleanor and Mary.

Mary looked up as Stan entered the room. "Where were the two of you?"

"I took him to get checked over; you're right he wasn't sleeping or eating. The doctor said it's caused by stress. He's taken a sedative and is sleeping now. We picked up some nutrient shakes in case he still feels he can't eat anything. We have to get him back to eating real food though and if he doesn't than the doctor wants to see him again." Stan relayed. "I'm going to be staying here also to keep track of him. I'm going to grab a go bag and some groceries. I'll schedule an appointment for him with a departmental shrink. He needs to be talking to someone about this."

Mary didn't like that idea, the last person he needed to be talking to about his problems was Shelley Finkle. "Do you really think Shelley is the best person for him?"

"No I don't, that's why I'm asking for someone else that hasn't had a personal interest in him." Stan stated knowing what Mary was getting at.

"In the meantime?" Eleanor asked.

"Be there for him if he asks us to. Right now he's sleeping and with any luck he'll be out for awhile but he needs to be able to fall asleep without aid. I'm thinking if he gets the burden off his shoulders it'll help. I'm just not sure who he'd be willing to talk to about it. Normally it would be Mary but it's related to her shooting and he might worry about bringing up unpleasant memories. I just don't know." Stan wished he had the answers.

"Do I need to leave? Is that part of the problem?" Mary asked feeling insecure about it.

"No he needs you here and you need to be here that hasn't changed. Try to reassure him it's okay to talk about what happened with you. Mary I don't have all the answers. This is uncharted territory for all of us and maybe that's part of the problem." Stan spoke out loud what he'd been keeping in.

"What do you mean?" Eleanor asked.

"Marshall is the one that keeps everything together and we've gotten so use to relying on him just being him to get through everything that we've never given any thought to how it effects him. " Stan shrugged. "He's dealt with your kidnapping, his shooting, losing a witness he was fond of, your shooting and managing to help your family and you through it all in one year. What have any of us done to help him deal with all of the emotions that go with it?"

Marshall has been her point of strength and yet she'd done nothing in return. "So we are there for him now and we try to prevent making the same mistakes in the future."

"That's correct and you're also going to go lie down and heal some more also." Stan ordered. "Don't even think about arguing with me. Go." Stan pointed down the hallway and smiled when he heard her walk past the guestroom and head in by Marshall.

Eleanor raised an eyebrow at Stan. "You didn't honestly think she wasn't going to hover over him did you?" Stan asked Eleanor.

"No but I thought she'd at least pretend to go in the guestroom." Eleanor shrugged.

"Not when she's this worried about him. Can you stay while I go pack some things before coming back?"

"Not a problem." Eleanor agreed readily.

* * *

Mary walked into Marshall's room and moved to the other side of the bed so she could see his face. The stress showed on his face even in sleep and she wanted to take it away. Lying down next to him she moved so that she could wrap an arm around him in support without hurting her abdomen. She pressed a gently kiss on his shoulder.

"I promise you Marshall we'll get through this and I'll do my best so you won't have to feel so much pressure again. I love you Marshall; come back to us." She whispered softly knowing it was the safest time to tell him the truth that she'd kept buried in her heart for so long. Someday she'd get the courage to tell him when he was awake but for now this was all she could offer.

* * *

Stan had returned and waited for a couple of hours before going to check on his inspectors, the sight that was before his eyes made him smile. Mary had a protective hand over Marshall while they both lay peacefully on the bed. Mary looked up as the door opened and raised an eyebrow at him in question.

"Just checking to make sure you were both okay. Go back to sleep Mary." Stan whispered and closed the door again. Returning to the living room he smiled when Eleanor looked at him.

"Are they okay?" She asked concerned.

"Marshall is still sleeping and Mary woke up when I came in but she'll go back to sleep or just lay next to him. It's her way of protecting him." Stan shrugged.

"Why don't I cook up something? Hopefully he'll want to eat when he wakes up?" Eleanor moved to the kitchen and began to cook and was thrilled to see how organized Marshall kept his kitchen. She could only imagine what it'd be like at Mary's and she shuddered at that thought grateful they were at Marshall's.

Marshall began to stir and felt fingers running through his hair soothingly; he tensed at first not remembering anyone being in the room besides Stan at first.

Mary smirked at his tensing knowing what he must be thinking. "Relax Doofus it's just me." She felt the tension leave right away.

"How long have I been out?" Marshall questioned as he turned over to look at his partner.

"About six hours." She saw the shocked look on his face. "Trust me you needed it. Feel like eating because something smells _really_ good in the kitchen."

"I'll try." Marshall stated remembering what the doctor said.

"You know that you can talk to me about what happened right? I'm more than willing to help you work through all of this." Mary asked sincerely.

"I know, it's just hard for me to do that. I should be helping you not the other way around. You're dealing with this better than me and you almost died! I keep things together for everyone, Mare. It's what I do and I don't know how to stop all of this." Marshall admitted.

"Well that needs to change because this scares me. Heck you've even got Eleanor scared and I would've sworn she was the ice queen." Mary teased lightly.

"She likes me; you on the other hand not so much." Marshall teased back.

"She adores me; she just hasn't figured it out yet." Mary smirked.

"What meds have you been taking?" Marshall chuckled dodging the punch she threw his way as they both got up and headed out to the living room.

Stan and Eleanor shared a smile as they heard the two bantering; they knew there were things still to be dealt with but it was good to hear the two being themselves.

"Are you two hungry?" Eleanor asked.

"A little." Marshall answered politely.

"Well it's a start." Stan said and they ate supper together. Marshall ate some but not enough to get what he needed nutrient wise. Stan got up and put the shake in front of Marshall. "You still need more and if this is the only way to get the nutrients …drink up." Marshall looked less than pleased but did as he was told. "Small steps Marshall and you already are taking them." He said to encourage him.

* * *

The week had been a long and tiring one for Stan, Mary and Marshall. It seemed for awhile there ever step forward they took with Marshall would somehow get pushed back a few more hours or days later. He'd stop taking the sedatives but was having some severe nightmares on and off most nights. His eating habits were slowing coming back to normal and he no longer needed the protein shakes.

Mary was going to stay at least another week to help him through the nightmares as Marshall returned the favor when Mary had hers. They were at the point where the only people who could help them were each other; it was time for Marshall to forgive himself and that would come with some help from Mary. Stan knew this and announced his departure.

Stan looked at the two of them before leaving. "If you need anything call and stay out of trouble."

"Yes Dad." Mary teased and watched as Stan rolled his eyes before leaving Marshall's house.

"Alright now that the parents are way the children can play." Mary teased Marshall after Stan left.

Marshall didn't know how to reply; he still felt guilty around Mary and even though he was sleeping, eating, and the nightmares were winding down he had a hard time being comfortable with her.

The silence was beginning to get on Mary's nerves. She looked at Marshall and noticed the way he shifted in his seat. "What's wrong and don't tell me nothing. You're fidgeting and that means something's bugging you." When he didn't answer but turned his head away guiltily she'd decided it was time to confront him face to face, literally. Getting off the chair she sat on the coffee table directly in front of Marshall.

"Hey." She stated gently and reached out to turn his face towards her. "You need to talk to me. This isn't going to work any other way and if you think you can send me away without us being fixed you have a whole new thing coming."

"I wasn't trying to send you away; I never mentioned sending you away." Marshall defended.

"You were thinking it." Mary accused.

"What do Raph and your family think of you being gone so long; especially with me?" Marshall asked.

The 'especially with me' part bothered Mary. "Raph is ancient history, and thrown out of the house; Jinx and Brandi aren't worried _because _I'm with you. Why would they be?" Mary pushed.

"When did you and Raph become ancient history?" Marshall asked curiously.

"While you were out getting yourself shot. The idiot wanted me to choose first between my career and him and than between you and him. Like either of those options were going to happen." Mary stated agitated.

"What if you were safer without me? Would that change your answer?" Marshall began to fidget with his jeans.

"I'm not, nor have I ever been safer than when we are together. Marshall your being there or not being there wouldn't have changed what happened that night and I for one am grateful you weren't. Do you know how hard it is to see your partner get shot in front of you? I can guarantee you that its earth shattering and that image is next to impossible to get out of your mind." Mary informed him.

"I might've seen O'Connor and been able to get you out of the way; there are so many things that could've been different if I'd been there." Marshall's voice cracked a little at the end.

"No! You are _not _going to do this to yourself. No one blames you but you and it needs to stop! That kind of thinking will get you into a whole world of hurt and I'm not going to allow that to happen. I was serious when I said in the hospital you could've been killed if it hit you. I can't lose you Marshall; you're the _only_ person that I can't survive without. Do you understand that?"

Marshall nodded. "Is that why Raph left?"

"Yes, he didn't like the fact that you're always going to be the person I depend on and I shouldn't have agreed to marry him in the first place. Brandi was right and if you tell her that I'll hurt you."

"What was she right about?" Marshall questioned.

"That I wasn't seeing what was in front of my face and the only reason I agreed to marry Raph was because if he left I'd be fine. I couldn't ever be fine if you weren't here." Mary took a deep breath and closed the gap between her and Marshall chuckling a little at his surprise. Picking at one of the buttons on his shirt she decided it was time to come clean with everything. "She said I was in love with you and too blind to see it; I judge men by my father even when I know they're much better than him. I don't think I've ever known what it's like to be loved but I'd be willing to find out if the right man came along."

Marshall felt hope inside his heart where he wasn't sure he deserved to. "Has the right one come along?"

"His tall geeky frame entered my life a while ago; first as someone I thought would be a know it all, then he became a partner I could depend on, moved into the job of being my only friend, and somewhere along all of that opened my heart to the possibility of finding out what it was like to be loved and not changed into what love is thought to be." Mary shrugged nervously.

"Sounds like an incredible guy; when do I get to meet him?" Marshall teased knowing how hard that was for Mary.

"You're so pushing your luck with me. I love you Marshall Mann and I know that you will always be there for me even when you question it yourself." Mary couldn't believe she told him finally. Now she scanned his eyes and face while waiting for his answer.

Marshall tilted her chin up and softly ran his thumb across her cheek. "I fell for you a long time ago but was scared you'd run if I'd said anything. I wish I could change the fact that you didn't know the unconditional love of a parent, boyfriend or lover but I would be honored to show you what it means to be unconditionally loved by me. This won't take away the guilt I feel for what happened and we can keep talking about it; one day it will get better I assume. I just feel like I failed you by not being there. I thought you were going to die on me and I wasn't sure how to move forward without you."

"I won't leave you if I have anything to say about it and you can't leave me. The worst moment when I woke up was finding you not there and knowing Stan was worried. When I remembered who the shooter was and Stan refused to answer while he tried to get you help I was scared I'd lost you. Brandi reminded me of what I kept hidden inside for so long and pointed out the obvious which I tried to bury but realized lately that I didn't want to. I'm not the easiest girlfriend in the world you know." Mary cautioned.

"Mare, we'll take this slow; we both need time to heal emotionally and physically but we'll do it together and we can build from there. Will take it step by step until we're both comfortable if you're sure you want to take the chance with me." Marshall knew to give her options so she didn't feel trapped.

"I'd like to take the chance with you but I guarantee we're going to hit bumps in the road." Mary smiled.

"This is us; when have we done things the non complicated way?" Marshall smiled back at her.

"Well there's still one test you need to pass." Mary smiled and leaned in for a kiss; the minute their lips met she felt a jolt of electricity. It was a feeling she'd never had; sure there had been heat and fiery kisses but none have left her entire body tingling and wanting so much more.

When they pulled apart, Marshall smiled and looked up to her. "Do I pass?"

"With flying colors and then some." She muttered huskily while recapturing his lips for another searing kiss. Pulling back they cuddled up together on the couch; in his arms she felt like she'd finally found a home. She talked to him about her memories of the shooting and he started to open up to her about his nightmares and what they meant to him. They still had things to work out and Marshall's guilt wouldn't go away because of their admitted feelings for one another but it would help them get through them and make them even closer.


End file.
